Trapped
by Sweet June Rain
Summary: Stephanie Plum is trapped in an abusive relationship with her spouse. Stephanie needs to escape, but how can she when her husband has so much clout? The answer might come from a tattered piece of paper. (OOCs, OCs, AU, and it's a BABE!) WARNING SERIOUS TOPIC IS SERIOUS TOPIC Domestic and spousal abuse. Joe gets beaten into a pulp in this tale, and Helen doesn't fare good as well.
1. Trapped

So! My computer herped a derped and I lost most of my documents including my fanfiction stories! so, until I find the flash drive with the stories backed up on (I packed everything up for college, and I totally don't want to unpack that shit ~w~) This is a serious tale, about a serious topic.

WARNING: SERIOUS ISSUES (Spousal Abuse for now, I'll warn you if something more serious comes along down the road.)

Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money from this, okay? Kool!

Trapped

Stephanie Plum let out a low, tried sigh, sitting at the dining room table that was situated in her home. A basket of clean white clothes and a basket of dark clothes, which were neatly folded and waiting for Stephanie to put away, sat beside her on the pristine white carpeted floor. Stephanie had dinner in oven, baked ziti, with homemade pasta sauce, with extra garlic, just the way her husband liked it. Stephanie still could not believe it, but yes, she was now married, again. After her first disaster of a marriage to Dickie Orr, she swore she'd never get married again. She spent a good year, trying to get back on her feet, and to start her life all over again. She had found a job at a local bank, and was living modestly, in an apartment that had been five minutes away from her parents' home in Chambersburg, or the 'Burg. One Sunday night, when Stephanie went over to her parents, her mother hounded her and told Stephanie that she needed to find a husband. Her mother pointed out that she was almost 30, and wasn't getting any younger. That made Stephanie angry, her mother pushed her into marrying Dickie, and now she was at it again.

She got her mother of her back, by going on a date she set up or Stephanie. Her date turned out to be Joe Morelli. She hadn't really known Joe, apart from the time he got her to play Choo-choo in his father's garage, and when he took her virginity when she was 16. The last time she had heard about Joe, from his gloating mother, he was some hot shot detective in LA. He had come back, because his aunt died, and gave Joe her house. He now worked at the Trenton Police department, he was only a few weeks away from getting promoted to Lieutenant. He was handsome, Stephanie had to give him that, and he was successful in his work, he always caught the bad guys. So when Joe asked her out again on a date, Stephanie said yes.

They had been going out for maybe 6 months, when Joe asked Stephanie to marry her. They had been at Roussini's on Valentine's day. He had gotten down on one knee, right in the middle of the restaurant, and proposed to her. Stephanie couldn't help but feel that the pressure was all on her, what was she to do? She liked Joe, and yes, she did love him a bit, but marriage, that was a big thing, and they had only been dating for half a year. Sure, this would get her mother off her case, but did she really want to marry Joe?

It only took Stephanie a moment to accept his proposal. They got married three months later, with a lavish 'Burg marriage, and settled in the house Joe inherited from his aunt. Stephanie knew this marriage would be different from her last one, Joe truly cared for her, and loved her, he would never do her wrong. This would be a different marriage.

Stephanie didn't know how true that would be.

Joe began to change, after the marriage. he still showed Stephanie love and affection, but there was something off about it. the hugs and kisses, they seemed tensed, almost forceful. He told Stephanie that he was agitated, because, he had yet to get his promotion, and that they could really use the money. Stephanie did point out that she too was working and with the two pay checks they bought in, they were living comfortably. When he did get his promotion, Joe asked Stephanie to stop working, to be a stay at home wife, and to make sure that dinner was on the table for him. They got into a huge fight about it, Stephanie loved working at the bank, no she wasn't going to give up her independence. Just because they were married, didn't mean she couldn't have a job. One night she came home from work, Joe rounded on her and got in her face about her job and quitting it. again, a fight broke out, but this time, Joe struck her. She had never been hit beore in her life. Joe slapped her across the cheek. He had been stunned, and apologized, but Stephanie wasn't having any of it. it took her four days before she could talk to Joe. He had apologized, and told her that he was stressed out from working a huge case, and that he was only looking out for her. He gave her flowers, candies, jewelry, trying to make up for the fact that he hit her. sadly, it worked, and Stephanie forgave her husband.

What a fool she had been.

Two weeks later, she came home from work again, and Joe demanded she quit her job, like he did every night. Again, Stephanie told him that she wasn't going to quit her job, and be a stay at home wife. Joe got angry at her and they got into a loud screaming match. Joe had slapped her again, but this time instead of looking apologetic, he had grabbed Stephanie's arm and demanded she quit her job, now. When she told him no again, Joe shook her and told her to call the bank up and to quit now, or else she'd walk into work the next day, black and blue. Stephanie had called the bank manager that night and quit her job. Joe had pushed her away and told her that he would be the bread winner, and she was to clean the house and cook his meal, like a good 'Burg housewife.

Like a good 'Burg housewife. That's what Joe wanted, 'Burg housewife.

She confided in her mother, telling her about the night he slapped her and shook her. She was expecting her mother to be sympathetic, to tell her child to leave the marriage. Instead her mother shook her head and said, "Well, you should have quit your job the first time he asked you to do so, honestly Stephanie, to be a good 'Burg wife, you have to listen to your husband."

After that conversation, she didn't bring up that topic around her mother. Stephanie now knew that her mother would be of no help. She didn't want to burden anyone else, so, she kept it to herself.

That had been about five years or so ago. Stephanie hoped that by quitting her job, Joe would be happy. Joe was never happy, Stephanie found out. He wasn't happy with her cooking, her cleaning, any little excuse to yell at Stephanie, to slap her.

Stephanie turned from her sitting position, hearing the front door to house open, and Joe walked in, with a bunch of flowers, and a smile on his face. Stephanie put on a smile and said, "Welcome home Joe, Dinner's almost ready."

"Good, Cupcake," Joe said, leaning in and kissing his wife, "Here, I bought these for you, to celebrate."

"Celebrate what?" Stephanie asked, taking the flowers, and putting them on the table, "Our anniversary was last month."

"Grandma Bella wants a great-grandchild from me," Joe said, causing Stephanie to turn around and look at him, "and who am I to turn down her request, we're celebrating the start to parenthood!"

Stephanie's smile faltered and she said, "Joe, I don't want to have a child now, I'm not ready, maybe in a year or so-"

Stephanie let out a cry, as her sentence was cut short by a sharp slap to her face. Joe grabbed her by her elbow and said, "We've talked about this before, Cupcake, do we need to have another conversation, hmm?"

"N-no," Stephanie said, her eyes downcast, "Joe…please, you're hurting me."

"I wouldn't have to hurt you, Cupcake, I you just did what I told you to do," Joe growled, twisting Stephanie arm, making the woman cry out in agony, "Now, are we in agreement with starting a family?"

"I-" Stephanie started, but she had to stop, as the bones in her arms began to strain, "I don't think it's-"

Stephanie felt more than she heard the bone in her arm break. The pain exploded and she let out a loud cry of agony, falling to her knees, holding her limp arm. Joe loomed over her crying form and said, "I really don't want to have this conversation again, Cupcake, it's time we really started having some kids of our own."

Joe let out a sigh, and said, "Damn it, Cupcake, why do you make me do this to you, don't you see, I only want the best for you, if that means popping out a few babies, then you pop out a few babies."

Stephanie shied away from Joe, when he tried to touch her. Joe shook his head and said, "I don't like hurting you, Cupcake, you make me do this to you, remember that…now come on, we have to go to the hospital, to get a cast for your arm."

"The Ziti, I need to turn the oven off," Stephanie said through a tiny sob, "Then we can go to the hospital."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~)

_'You make me do this to do, remember that….'_ Stephanie tossed in the bed, looking over to Joe's sleeping form. That's what he told after every beating, that she made him hit her, break her bones, push her down the stairs. That's what he's been telling her for the past five years, it was all her fault. Did she deserve a beating after cooking the pot roast too long? Did she deserve a tumble down the stairs for not getting all the wrinkles out of Joe's dress shirts? After five long years of this situation, Stephanie truly didn't know, if she did or did not deserve the beatings. She couldn't really go to anyone about it, she hadn't spoken to anyone but her parents and Joe's parents, and they weren't much help, Stephanie's mother was really no help, Stephanie had caught her mom and Joe talking quietly about sabotaging Stephanie's birth control, so she could get pregnant. Stephanie hoped that her birth control hadn't been tampered with now, that she wasn't pregnant now. Truth be told, not only was she not ready for a baby, but she didn't want a child in this environment.

Stephanie gently placed her blue cast covered arm on her chest and sighed softly, looking up at the ceiling. The nurses at the hospital gave her pitying stares, as she was led through the hospital by Joe. It was like they knew what was really going on between the couple. Was it that obvious…or was it…had they seen this before? Stephanie had been carful as to what she told the ER doctor about her broken bone. She had fallen down the stairs, tripping on a high heel. Joe had approved of her excuse, so did the doctor, because he had set her broken arm and gave her some pain medication. She'd be in a cast for 4 weeks, and she couldn't do much lifting and carrying. She couldn't listen to the doctor's order, she had to lift the laundry basket, she needed to move the furniture to clean it, she needed to replace their winter clothes for their light clothes, she couldn't just rest around, or use just one arm, she needed both her arms.

Stephanie closed her eyes, seizing up as Joe wrapped his arm around Stephanie's waist, and murmured, "Cupcake…"

What could she do now? She was stuck in this marriage. she tried to leave her husband before, by going to Valarie, her sister. Her mother had called Joe and told her where she was, when they got home that night, Joe beat her black and blue, threatening to use his growing power in the police department to make life hell for everyone she knew. He quickly got promoted to sergeant after his last promotion, he had so much power and pull, and now and then he did work for the FBI. Stephanie was terrified, because Joe told her that he could make her disappear, he could kill her, and no one would know.

She was trapped, with no way out of this hell.

TBC…

A serious tale about a serious issue, Reviews are loved, this is what I'm working on, until I find my flash drive with all the stories backed up on it! Reviews are loved, I love your feedback :T


	2. Hope

Chapter 2, enjoy!

WARNINGS ARE IN THE FIRST CHAPTER! SERIOUS TOPIC IS SERIOUS TOPIC!

(Spousal abuse!)

Trapped

_Hope_

Stephanie smiled, opening the door so that Mary Lou could enter the house, her arms ladled with a glass casserole dish.

"Stephanie, how are you sweetheart?" Mary Lou asked, placing the glass casserole on the low coffee table in the living room, "I bought you some tuna noodle casserole, that way, you don't have to use that broken arm of yours."

"Thanks Mar," Stephanie said with a small smile, leading Mary Lou over to the couch, "So, how are the boys?"

"They're great," Mary Lou said watching Stephanie sit down, "They're all signed up for sports, which is great, it gets them out of my hair, and out of the house."

Stephanie smiled, watching Mary Lou speak about her family. She wished that Joe was more like Mary Lou's husband, he loved Mary Lou, and would never strike her. Joe told her that he loved her, but, would a loved one push the person they claimed to love down the stairs? Before Mary Lou came over, Stephanie had to put on some concealer to hide the fresh bruises that Joe gave her last night. Mary Lou would have asked questions, and she really didn't want any one asking why she was black blue and green all over. She had accidently left the house, without covering all her marks, and an older woman had called Joe, saying that Stephanie had some questionable bruises on her neck. The older woman thought they were hickies, and blabbed to Joe, who in turned beat Stephanie for not hiding her marks well enough.

"And the littlest one, Kyle, well he wanted to do field hockey, but I was not ready for all the heartache from the hockey sticks they have, honestly, a 6 year old, with a hockey stick oh goodness-"

"Did Lenny pressure you to have a child?" Stephanie asked Mary Lou, the hand that was cast free, worrying the hem of her shirt, "I mean, did he ever tell you that you needed to have a child?"

"No, heavens no," Mary Lou said leaning back in the couch, "He would never demand I have a child, just because he wanted me to have one."

Mary Lou leaned forward and said, her voice serious, "Has Joe demanded you have a child? Stephanie is he doing something?"

"No," Stephanie said quickly, looking over to Mary Lou, "No, Mar, Joe loves me, he would never demand something I didn't want, like children."

Mary Lou gave Stephanie a smile, and said "Good, because, I'll have Lenny call the mob, because, he still talks to that side of the family…"

"Oh god Mar," Stephanie said with a giggle, "Not the Mob, honestly, Mar, nothing bad is going on between Joe and I, I left a shoe in the middle of the hallway upstairs and took a tumble. You know me, I'm such a klutz."

"Yeah, well, you've been a bigger klutz lately," Mary Lou said, hugging her friend, "I gotta go, but, if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me up, or have Joe call me, I'll be here lickity split!"

"Alright," Stephanie said, as she and Mary Lou got off the couch in the living room, and went to the front door, "I'll see you later, Mar."

"Take it easy, Steph," Mary Lou said, before she left the house, closing the door behind her.

Stephanie placed her good hand on the door and said, in a low voice, "If I don't anger Joe, I'll have it easy…"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie let out a inaudible sigh, sipping her wine and ignoring the noise around her. She hated Sundays, that meant that she and Joe would have to go to either parent's house to have dinner. This Sunday, they were at the Morelli's, eating a hearty pasta, and drinking wine, while the kids of Joe's siblings ran around screaming, and Grandma Bella made comments about the lack of children that Stephanie and Joe did not have.

"Joseph," The woman said, placing withered hand on her favorite grandchild's hand, "I feel the lie slipping away from me as we speak, yet, I haven't gotten a grandson from you. I would love it, if you gave me a grandchild, with those strong Morelli looks."

Stephanie rolled her eyes and finished off her wine, ignoring the glare Grandma Bella gave her.

"You need to hurry up and give me a child, as your wife gets older, she becomes less likely to give me a grandson," Grandma Bella said, wiping the fake tears from her eyes, "And that's all I want from you, Joseph, a beautiful grandson."

'If you want a grandson so much, why don't you give birth to him,' Stephanie must have thought that out loud, because there was a long pause of silence. Stephanie looked up and saw that everyone was looking at her, their eyes either wide with surprise or narrowed with anger. She almost didn't hide the wince, when Joe grabbed her hand and crushed it in his grip.

"Cupcake, I think you had too much to drink," Joe grounded out, looking at Stephanie with hard eyes, "Should I take you home?"

Stephanie bit the inside of her cheek, as she felt the bones in her hand crack, "Yes, Joe, I had one too much to drink, please, take me home."

"Mother, Grandma," Joe said, jerking Stephanie out of her seat, "See you next Sunday, I'm sure Stephanie will apologize when we come back again."

"Ungrateful harlot, marrying my Joseph," Grandma Bella hissed at Stephanie as the couple left, "You should get rid of her, Joseph, she's not worthy of you!"

"I plan on it, if she's keeps acting up," Joe growled lowly to Stephanie as they left the house, "Remember, I can make you disappear, and no will be able to find you."

Once they were in the SUV, Joe rounded on Stephanie and slapped her across the face. He leaned close to Stephanie and hissed, "That's just a taste of what you'll get when we get back to the house."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"You're lucky, Mrs. Morelli," A kindly nurse said softly to Stephanie as she lay in the hospital bed, "If it wasn't for your husband calling the EMTs, you'd be dead."

Stephanie nodded her head and said in a cracked voice, "My Hero, I can always count on him to save me."

The nurse adjusted the amount of pain medication Stephanie was getting and then left her small hospital room. Stephanie let out a cracked sob and rubbed her tried face. Joe was merciless the night they returned from his parents. Stephanie thought she would die that night, the way it felt in her chest, it felt like fire was burning her from the inside out. All her ribs were broken or cracked, he had cracked her skull and gave her a serious concussion. Her spleen had been ruptured, and her kidneys were bruised. She had been in the hospital for two weeks now, most of the time had been spent sleeping. She woke up once in a while to get medicine and to eat.

Joe only came to see her twice, each time was to threaten her into silence, if she spoke about it, she would be killed in her hospital bed. As he leaned down to threaten her, Stephanie had caught the whiff of something floral, perfume.

It hurt Stephanie, more than she had wanted it to, her husband of five years, was having an affair with a woman. She didn't know who it was he was having sex with but, all she knew was that he was having sex with another woman. What was she to do now? Joe would never let her get away, he told her that the only way she would leave him was in a body bag. Stephanie let out another sob and gripped the blanket harder.

"Stephanie?"

Stephanie stopped crying long enough to see Grandma Mazur standing in the doorway of her hospital room. Grandma Mazur was the glue that held the family together. When Stephanie was younger, she used to run away and go to her grandmother's house and spend the day there. When Stephanie saw her grandma in the doorway, all the flood gates broke open and she couldn't stop crying. She didn't hear Grandma Mazur close the door and lock, nor did she hear the woman walk over to where she lay in the hospital bed. Stephanie gripped the arms that wrapped around her shoulders, hugging her tightly.

"I know, Grandbaby," Edna Mazur said, holding her grandchild, "I know, it's going to be alright, Grandma's here now."

"No it won't," Stephanie sobbed, holding onto her grandmother, "It won't! He'll just beat me until I die, I can't escape, he'll find me!"

Edna was not a fool, she knew what was going on in the home of her grandchild; her husband was abusing her, beating her black and blue. She had seen signs of abuse before, from friends and distant relatives. She never thought that one of her own would have to deal with this situation. Helen was no help, she let that child go back to that monster. She let her child deal with this, Edna slapped her silly when she heard about it.

Stephanie was in a dangerous situation now, her husband was high up in the law, and not only that he had ties with some higher ups in the FBI. Stephanie wasn't lying when she said she couldn't leave. Joe Morelli had power over her grandchild.

All hope was not lost, though.

"Stephanie, I know you think it's hopeless," Grandma Mazur said to her grandchild, rocking her gently, "I know your mother let you go back to that monster, and trapped you there, but you're not going to die. No, Grandma Mazur is going to help you."

Stephanie let out a hiccup as Grandma Mazur opened her palm and placed a piece of paper in it, "Grandma Mazur?"

Stephanie looked down at the her hand and saw a yellowed piece of paper, with a phone number on it. Stephanie looked up at her grandmother and said, "What is this?"

"Hope, Grandbaby, hope, I went to a friend, hoping I could help you, and someone gave me this," Grandma Mazur said softly, hugging her daughter, "Call this number, use a pay phone, and you'll find an escape route."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie dumped the now cold scampi in the trash, her blue eyes glassy with tears. This has been the routine now since she was released from the hospital. Joe would leave the house for days, and come back drunk and belligerent, Stephanie bore the brunt of his drunkenness. Stephanie was tired of it.

Stephanie pulled out the yellowed small piece of paper, and then grabbed her car keys. Stephanie grabbed her purse, and then left the house, to find a pay phone. She drove for miles, and found one at a gas station closer to route one. Stephanie slipped the coins in the phone slots, and then dialed the ten numbers

The phone rang four times, and then someone picked up, a woman, "Yes?"

"Hi My name is-"

"No names," The woman said softly, though there was a sharp edge to it, "No names, no means of identification, just in case someone is listening. I know what you're calling for, and yes, I will meet you to discuss with you what you need. One a scale of one to ten, who dire is your situation?"

"11," Stephanie said softly, tears of relief in her eyes, "its 11, please, help me."

" 11 you say? If you can, there is a fair that is happening close to the border of New York, it's on route one, you can't miss it, go there tomorrow, and I will meet you there, go sit in the jousting bleachers, I will meet you there."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you…." Stephanie let out a sob of relief, "thank you so very much-"

"We're not out the clear now," The woman said softly, "We need to discuss things, serious things, come alone, and make sure no one is following you, I suggest you either rent a car, or call a cab."

Stephanie nodded her head and said, "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Mhmm," The woman hung up the phone and Stephanie sighed, hanging up as well. This seemed to be her way out of her marriage.

TBC….

Reviews are loved I love your feedback :T


	3. A Father's Folly

Chapter 3, enjoy!

WARNINGS AND DISCLAIMER IN CHAPTER ONE!

Trapped

_A Father's Folly_

Stephanie tapped her heel, her hands resting on the park bench. Joe wasn't home when she came back from making the call, nor did he show up drunk last night, which was good, because she didn't want to meet this woman covered in bruises. She called the only cab company she could trust; the one her father worked for. She gave them a fake name, and told them to meet her at the park at 12 noon. Stephanie kept looking to and fro, just in case her husband magically appeared, to take her back to that hell.

Stephanie let out a sigh, watching the yellow cab park close by to the park. She got up and walked over to the cab and got in saying, "Please, take me to a fair, it's close by near the new york border, on route one."

"Yes ma'am," A voice said, making Stephanie look up and gasp.

"Daddy!" Stephanie said, looking at her father, who sat in the driver seat, gripping the steering wheel tightly, "Daddy, what are you doing driving the cab, I thought you were off today?"

"I was, Pumpkin, but, I got call rom a buddy down at the cab station, don't look at me that way, the guys know your voice," Frank Plum said, as he pulled out the park and got on the road, driving down route one, "We need to have a talk Pumpkin, let me speak my mind, and then, I'll let you talk, okay?"

Stephanie nodded her head and said in a soft voice, "Okay Daddy."

Frank nodded his head and said, with a big heave, "I haven't been a good father to you Stephanie, to both you and your sister, to be honest. Your mother, she told me to back away from you girls, as you went into puberty, my job was to bring home the bacon and that was it, I should have said something to her then and there, but, It seemed to be the best course of action, back then. Truth be told, I should have never done that to you girls, just step to the side, you're mother, pardon my French here, fucked you two up. She had this idea that you wanted to be her, a housewife who waited hand and foot on their husband. Hell, I liked that idea, but, before I married your mother, she had dreams, and aspirations, but that damn 'Burg, it got to her, and she never lived I that area, really. It twisted her mind, and turned her into something else. She wanted you girls to be something else, and I just let her try to change you, I let her belittle you into things you didn't want to do and I never once said a thing. Well, now I am doing something for you Pumpkin, I'm helping you leave that bastard, I saw him Stephanie, down at the bar near Stark Street, with a group-"

"Oh, so he's sleeping with several women," Stephanie said, defeated, "It doesn't surprise me, Daddy, I knew about him sleeping around, I just hope I haven't caught anything from him...Daddy, do you know about him…"

"Beating you?" Frank asked, looking at his child, "Yes, I do, I paid that bastard a visit, gave him a black eye and told him to stay away from you, but, then again, when do Morelli men listen to reason?"

They drove in silence the rest of the trip, it wasn't until Frank pulled the cab into the Medieval Fair did he say anything.

"Can you tell me why I drove you here?" Frank asked his child, watching her get out the cab.

"I'm here for hope," Stephanie said softly, looking at her father, "that's all I can say."

Frank got out the car and walked over to the child he wronged for most of her life. HE hugged her tightly and said, "I hope you get what you need from here. I have something or you."

Frank took out a white envelope and said, "I was saving this money for a boat, but you need it more, there's over 6,000 dollars in here, take it."

"Daddy, I can't-" Stephanie started but Frank stopped her.

"No you can and you will, use it for whatever you need, I just want to see you safe," Frank said kissing Stephanie's cheek, placing the money in Stephanie's hand "Be safe, Pumpkin. I've wronged you, and hopefully, 'this hope' can fix what wrongs I've created"

Frank let go of his daughter, walked back to the cab, got in and drove away. Stephanie looked down at the money her father gave her and tucked it in her purse. She turned and walked into the fair, making her way to the Jousting area of the fair. Stephanie walked past people dressed as monks and peasants making her way to a make shift stadium of some sort. Stephanie walked up to the bleachers and sat down in them, watching as the pseudo-knights got ready for the jousting tournament. There was only a few people in the bleachers so maybe soon, the person who said would help her would show up.

Stephanie let out a sigh and leaned back, "Hopefully she comes soon…."

"You needn't wait any longer," A soft voice said beside Stephanie, making said woman jump and turn to look at the newcomer, "You're the one I'm looking or, right, you called me?"

Stephanie took a good look at the woman. She looked young, maybe a few years younger than Stephanie. She was shorter than Stephanie, by about a few inches. She had long black hair, which was in a high ponytail. She was the color of fine milk chocolate with a soft face. She had amber eyes that were sharp and seemed to find even the smallest things. She wore a soft pink sun dress and a pair of simple sandals.

Stephanie licked her lips and said in a soft voice, "I called you, yesterday, from a phone booth, you told me to come here, to meet you, right?"

"Yes," The woman said watching as people began to fill the bleachers for the jousting tournament, "This place is far out, and it's going to be busy, why don't you tell me why your situation Is an 11?"

"My husband, he's a Sargent at a police department," Stephanie said softly, tapping her knees, "He's able to…use his power to get what he wants. One day, he beat me, and the neighbors heard, they called the cops, but then they retracted what they claimed they heard, because my husband threatened to arrest them on trumped up charges."

The woman nodded her head and said in a soft voice, "Does he have any other connections to anything else?"

"Yes, the FBI," Stephanie said biting her lip, "He knows many of the higher ups in the FBI, he told me that he could make me disappear, I-I'm scared."

The woman placed a small hand on Stephanie's arm and said, in a low voice, "I know, and I'm going to help you escape, and to do that, I'm going to have to kill you."

"Kill me?!" Stephanie said standing up, looking down at the woman, "Kill me?!"

"I'm not going to kill you," the woman said looking at Stephanie, "I'm going to have to kill….what is your name?"

"Stephanie Morelli," Stephanie said, sitting down beside the woman.

"I'm going to have to kill Stephanie Morelli," The woman said looking at Stephanie, "I'm going to have to kill your identity, you'll be starting fresh."

The woman paused and then said, "Come on, Stephanie, let's go and get a cup of coffee."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie watched the woman hold her cup up so the waitress could refill her cup. As she did, Stephanie noticed that her arm was covered in scars. Some were thin and others thick and jagged, the one scar that stuck out the most was located near her wrist, it was long and wide and raised, it looked incredibly painful. The waitress was giving the woman's arms a through look, which made the woman cough and say, "Do you mind" making the waitress blush and walk off.

The woman turned to Stephanie and said in a soft voice, "Now, I need to tell you what I do, Stephanie, it is very important that you understand. I help women and men escape their abusive boyfriends and spouses, it's like the underground railroad, but much more complex. I'm going to make Stephanie Morelli disappear, and give you a new identity, you'll be in a new town, but you won't be alone, thee are people around, who will help you out, I take care of the people I help escape."

Stephanie nodded her head and said, "Okay, I'll do it, I'll leave, when do I leave?"

"Now," The woman said finishing her coffee, "You'll be leaving your old life behind and creating a new life, I'll get you a new license, social security card, birth certificate, the works, but, Stephanie, I have to warn you, If you do this, if you leave your life behind, you can no longer contact the people who were a part of it. Family and friends, you cannot have any contact, Stephanie, no matter how bad it gets, if you do, then I drop you, and then you're on your own, do you understand Stephanie?"

Stephanie bit her lip, looking at the woman stare back at her. She would never be able to talk to her family again. Her Father, her grandmother, they would be nothing but memories, could she turn her back on her family, just to be safe? Her father did say that to do whatever she needed to do to be safe, but she was sure he didn't know about her falling off the face of the earth, all together. She needed to escape from Joe, she needed to, and if that meant losing her family, then she'd do it.

"Okay," Stephanie said softly, nodding her head, looking at the woman who smiled and placed her coffee cup down, "I'll adhere to your rules."

"Good, now, if you come with me, we'll begin the process of killing off Stephanie Morelli, and creating a new woman." The woman said getting up from the table.

Stephanie got up and gently grabbed the woman's hand, "What's your name? I would like to know what to call the woman who is saving me."

The woman smiled and said, "You may call me Heidi, now come along, we need to get things done."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Joe frowned as he closed the door to the house, Stephanie wasn't home, she always greeted him at the front door. Joe walked over into the kitchen and frowned, not seeing Stephanie or dinner. Where was that woman?

Joe went through the house, looking for Stephanie, and not finding her. When he didn't find her he felt the rage bubbling underneath his skin. When he found that woman, he'd beat her black and blue, how dare she leave with no notice, oh yes, he'd make her suffer.

Joe sat down on the bed, and then pulled out his cell phone and called up the woman he had been sleeping with for the past two weeks. He could use some relief from her, Stephanie was a fucking pain in his ass.

TBC….

Reviews are loved, I love your feedback :T


	4. One Of The Many People

chapter 4, enjoy! Warnings and disclaimers are in the first chapter

Trapped

_One Of The Many People_

Heidi led Stephanie through the fair, over to the parking lot, and over to a simple beige colored Honda sedan. There was nothing special about it, it was an older model car, the license plate looked like any other plate on a car. Heidi opened the door and said, "Climb on in, we have a ways to go."

Stephanie climbed into the car and then Heidi started the car and drove out of the fair parking lot, and down Route one, going into New York. They drove for hours, going through New York and going up north. Stephanie had never gone this far up the coast before, she wondered where Heidi was taking her, they were far north now, in Maine. They had been driving for about nine hours now, only stopping or gas and for a quick bite to eat.

Stephanie turned to Heidi, watching her drive the car. She had yet to talk to Stephanie, for the whole duration of their trip. All she did was look ahead and drive. She would sometimes make moves, like twitching her hand, and rubbing the scars that littered both arms, but that's all she would do. It was very weird, Stephanie was used to people chattering around her, but Heidi, she seemed to be the type of person to not waste breath on idle chat.

"Where are we going?" Stephaie inally asked as they entered the state of Maine, "We've been driving or about 8 hours."

"We're almost there," Heidi said, as she turned off the main road they were on, to go down a little dirt road, "We'll be at the place in 10 minutes."

Stephanie frowned as Heidi pulled the car into what appeared to be a lone stretch of field, what were they doing here? Heidi parked the car and said to Stephanie, "Come on, let's get out, they'll be here soon."

"They?" Stephanie echoed, pausing to turn and look up at the night sky, hearing the sounds of a loud plane.

Stephanie watched, as a pair of headlights appeared in the night sky, and then a small charter plane was landing on the strip of field, stopping several hundred yards away from where the two women stood by the Sedan. The plane's engine cut off and then the hatch opened and two people walked out, A man and a woman. Heidi walked over to both, gave them tight hugs and then led them over to Stephanie.

"Stephanie, this is Lester Santos and Jeanne Ellen Borrows, they're on o the many people that help me help out abused and batter men and women," Heidi said watching as Lester and Jeanne gave Stephanie a hand shake, "So is the Midway Home set up?"

"yes it is, Boss," Lester said running a hand through his thick dirty blond locks, wrapping an arm around Heidi's shoulder, "All it's waiting for is you and your passenger."

Heidi nodded her head and turned to Stephanie, "Well, let's get on the plane, we have a long flight ahead of us, how long will it take to get to Oregon again?"

" It's a long 10 hours, because we have to stop for fuel," Jeanne said stretching her limbs, looking at Stephanie, "So, you're the 11 Heidi was worried about, well, hurry up and hop into the plane."

"Ten hours?" Stephanie asked looking at the trio, "Why are we going to Oregon?"

"That's where we house the newcomers, and from there we see if we have to place you somewhere in the states, or if we have to place you somewhere internationally," Heidi said, walking over to the plane, "Come alone, Stephanie, we have a long trip."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Wake up, Stephanie," We're in Oregon," Heidi said softly, shaking Stephanie awake, "Come on, the plane's about to land."

Stephanie let out a low and tired moan, sitting up in the soft plane seat. They had been flying for hours. Stephanie had inquired what would happen to the car they drove in, and Heidi assured her that it would be taken care of. Stephanie had been in a plane before, but, she had never been in a plane for so long. They had to stop three times, for fuel and to eat. Stephanie sat in the back of the plane, with Heidi, while Lester and Jeanne piloted the plane. They spoke to each other in headsets, while Heidi and Stephanie had their own headsets. Heidi didn't speak, all she did was look out the window of the plane.

They landed in a bare strip of land, in the middle of the forest in the heart of Oregon, closer to the mountains. Stephanie had never seen the west coast before, and the massive trees, in the massive woods they were in, it was amazing. Stephanie climbed out the plane and over to Heidi, who was chatting quietly to Lester and Jeanne. Stephanie walked over to the three and asked, "What are we waiting for?"

"Our ride," Lester said, turning to see a pair of headlights, "Ah, our limo has arrive."

Stephanie watched as an all terrain Jeep made its way to the bare strip of filed, where The plane sat silent. The Jeep pulled up to the four waiting people and then it stopped, the engine cutting off. Stephanie watched as the driver side of the door opened and a man got out, walking over to the group. He was of Latin American, Stephanie could see that in the headlights of the Jeep. He had dark brown eyes, and long black hair that was in a ponytail. He was tall, six feet and a few inches, dressed in a pair of black khaki pants, and a black t-shirt ,with black combat boots.

Heidi smiled at the man and walked to meet him in the middle, "Goodness, all dressed in black, what were you doing? Night Training?"

"I got called out to help with some of the men," The man said, hugging Heidi and kissing her forehead, "How was the trip?"

"Long," Heidi said letting go of the man, "So, Carlos, this is our newest member, Stephanie, Stephanie, this is Carlos, he's one of the many people who help out what I do."

"Nice to meet you," Stephanie said walking over to Heidi and Carlos, and shaking Carlos's hand.

"I'm glad you got her number," Carlos said shaking Stephanie's hand firmly, giving her a smile, "She's helped several hundred women and men."

"I'm glad I called her too," Stephanie said with a yawn, "Sorry, the plane ride took a lot out of me."

"That's just the jet lag talking," Jeanne said, placing a comforting hand on Stephanie's arm, "Come on, Princess, we'll get settled in at the Midway Home, you're just in luck, the second biggest room opened up last week, it's like we were waiting for you."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie let out a happy yawn, turning on the large bed she slept in. it had been a long time since she slept peacefully. Most of the nights, her sleep was full of turmoil, she would be too afraid to sleep deeply, Joe might stumble home drunk, and….

Stephanie shuddered and gripped the light quilt tighter to her. Stephanie wasn't back in New Jersey, she was in Oregon, about to begin her new life without her abusive husband. Stephanie slid out the bed and over to the neat pile of folded clothes. Heidi told her that she would obtain some clothes that fit her properly, and some toiletries that Stephanie preferred. Stephanie hated feeling like a charity case, but she was alone, in a place she didn't know about. She would pay Heidi back, her father gave her some money, and she would use it to pay Heidi back.

Stephanie put on the pair of jeans and the soft lavender color shirt, before she made her way into the hallway and over to the large stairs. The house she was in was massive, with eight big bedrooms and en suite bathroom. All she saw last night were closed doors, hiding the occupants that were behind the doors. The doors were opened now, reveling soft colored bedrooms with neatly made beds. Though, these pretty bedrooms lack anything personal.

Stephanie reached the landing of the stairs, and walked down the long hallway and into a huge kitchen, where a wooden table was situated, covered in breakfast food, with several people around it. Stephanie felt kind of nervous, as all eyes fell on her. She pointed out Heidi, and Jeanne, but that was all, Lester and Carlos were not around.

"Hey, you're just in time!" A chipper male voice said to Stephanie's left, "I just made waffles, hope you're hungry."

Stephanie turned to see a blond haired man, wearing a pink apron with kittens on it. He was tall, 6'5, all of it muscle, just like Carlos. he had blue eyes the color of the sky and was dressed in a flannel shirt, with blue jeans. The man smiled, holding up a plate of waffles and motioned for Stephanie to sit at the table with the other people.

"Diesel," Jeanne said, digging into the waffles, "Your cooking is wonderful, I'm sure a few of the gals here can vouch for that."

Many of the women in the kitchen giggled and then resumed eating their meals. Stephanie sat down beside Heidi, who smiled kindly at her and asked, "How did you sleep?"

"Good," Stephanie said with a smile, as she piled her plate with breakfast, "Thanks for asking, it's been a while since I've slept that well."

"Well, eat your breakfast, and once we're finish, we need to have a talk," Heidi said as the blond man placed a waffle on her plate, and sit down beside her.

"About what?" Stephanie asked, as she began to eat.

"About everything," Heidi said, looking over to Stephanie as she ate her meal, "We need to go and get you checked out by a doctor, and Carlos's friend, Bobby, is one."

"Check me out?" Stephanie asked, her eyes wide, "What do you mean?"

"Blood test, urine test, physical check up, the works," Heidi said finishing her meal, "Enjoy your meal, Stephanie, we'll talk later."

Heidi smiled and then got up to clean her plate. The man that sat beside Heidi, slid closer to Stephanie and said, with a smile, "Hey there, The name's Diesel, I'm one of the many people who help out Heidi out with what she does, I mostly cook."

Stephanie giggled and then said, "Well, you are a wonderful cook, it's been a while since someone cooked for me."

"Well get used to it," Jeanne said getting up and making her way to the sink with her dirty dishes, "He's the chef here, he won't let anyone else cook in this house."

Heidi turned to Jeanne and said, "We have to meet up with Carlos, and get the arrangements done for Stephanie."

"Alright, I got the blanks in my office," Jeanne said with a smile, "Let me go and get them, okay?"

"Okay," Heidi said, before she turned to Stephanie and Diesel, "Stephanie, once you're done, please come into the living room, we'll chat in there."

"Okay," Stephanie said, watching as Heidi and Jeanne walk out the kitchen, "See you soon."

Diesel nudge Stephanie and said, "They're going to eat you alive," Diesel smiled at the look Stephanie gave him, "Joking, I'm joking, hurry up and finish eating, I got to get a start on lunch."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Heidi knocked on the solid oak door before she entered the office that Carlos resided in. She saw Carlos behind his black desk, shifting through some paperwork. He looked up at Heidi and smiled, before he said, "Heidi, how did Stephanie sleep?"

"Like a baby," Heidi said closing the door to the office, and then walking to sit across from Carlos, "Did you get the information I wanted?"

"Yep," Carlos said, pulling out a black folder and handing it to Heidi, "I got all the information on Stephanie Morelli, and her husband."

Heidi opened the folder and shifted through the papers, her eyes half closed. Heidi frowned and said, "She wasn't kidding, this man has so many connections in the FBI, the police force, and even military clout, we may have to look into relocating her internationally, I could set her up in Germany, or maybe England…."

"She might be safest here, where we're headquartered, I'm sure this Joe person won't try anything with us around."

"I don't know, Carlos, he might find her, our connections intertwine with his connections, they might say something, and then this monster will be here." Heidi said with a sigh, looking up at her friend, "But if she was to go out of the states, and he found her, we wouldn't be able to help her, and she'd be helpless…."

Heidi sighed and shook her head, "I don't know what to do, Stephanie should be out of her physical soon, we'll talk to her about it."

Carlos nodded his head, watching as Heidi shifted through the papers, "I hope he hasn't hurt her too badly, a woman like that, doesn't deserve it."

Heidi nodded her head and said, "Nobody deserves it, Carlos, nobody."

Carlos leaned back and gave Heidi a pointed look, "Have you accepted his offer"

"No," Heidi said softly, running her hands up and down her arms, "I don't-"

"Heidi, he's not like-" Carlos started, but Heidi cut him off with a, "I know Carlos, I know! Everyone tells me that, I know that everyone's intentions are good, Carlos, but, it still hurts, I still hurt, Carlos, I know it's been a while since this all happened, but I still need time to heal, I don't want a relationship with him right now."

Heidi gave Carlos a small smile and said, "Besides, I don't have time to date, there are people out there, who need to be rescued."

Carlos nodded his head and then said, "The clean-up crew went to the address that's in the file, removed all traces that Stephanie Morelli ever lived there."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Joe let out a roar of pure rage, toppling the china cabinet in anger. That bitch that fucking bitch was gone! How dare she leave him! How dare she have the balls to leave Joe Morelli!

Joe grabbed the half full bottle of Jack Daniel's and took three long pulls from it. He would need to contact a few buddies, so he would find that bitch! And then she would pay

Oh yes, she would definitely pay for what she did.

TBC…

Reviews are loved, I love your feedback. :T


	5. A Few Things I Did Right

Chapter 5! Enjoy! Warnings and Disclaimers are in the first chapter!

Trapped

_A Few Things I Did Right_

"Hello, Stephanie, if you don't know me by now, my name is Bobby Brown, and I'm the doctor," Bobby Brown said with a smile looking at Stephanie, who sat on the examining table in the sterile white examination room. It was located in the basement of the massive house, along with the laundry facilities, and the food storage. Bobby was a tall black man with short black hair in braids. He wore all black and a white doctor's coat, "Heidi told me to give you a physical, urine test, and a blood test."

Bobby picked up a clipboard and said in a soft voice, "Now, Stephanie, I need for you to change into a medical gown, you can do that while you take a urine sample. The bathroom is the door to the left."

Stephanie picked up the plastic covered paper gown, and entered the bathroom. Stephanie stripped her clothes off, and then slipped on the gown. She pulled on the white black spotted gown . Stephanie peed in the cup, and then exited the room, to see Bobby waiting for her, along with a small Asian woman, who was dressed in nurse scrubs.

"Stephanie, this is Diana, she's the RN here, along with me, she's going to do your pelvic exam, and take pictures."

"Pictures?" Stephanie asked, clutching the thin gown to her chest, "Why do you need to take pictures?"

"Just in case you press charges on your husband," Diana said going over to Stephanie, "We'll just take pictures of any bruising, you can keep the gown on, but if there's any bruising at that's not exposed, if you want, we will take pictures of the bruise area, and that's it."

Stephanie nodded her head and said, "Do you really have to?"

"if you don't want to," Diana said softly, looking at Stephanie, "We don't have to."

Stephanie sighed and rubbed an area she knew was black and blue from when Joe hit her. She really didn't want to, but if it was just in case…

"Okay," Stephanie said nodding her head in Diana's direction, "I'll let you take the pictures."

"Bobby won't be in the room for this part, we want to make this quick and painless," Diana said, picking up a digital camera, "We'll be done quickly."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"How are you feeling, Stephanie?" Heidi asked, going into the living room, Stephanie following behind her, "I apologize if the physical was too much for you."

Stephanie didn't want to talk about the examination. The feeling of being exposed, even if it was for her good. Diana had been extremely kind to Stephanie, taking her mind off the examination by asking about her childhood. Stephanie would have to wait a moment before the results from her pelvic exam, blood test and urine test came back.

Stephanie sat down on the couch beside Heidi who ran a hand through her hair, "What's up, Heidi?"

"Uh…your husband, he has several solid connections to in the FBI, the military, the police force…we're concerned for you safety, now, you have two choices; you can either be relocated outside the United States, to maybe England o Germany, or else; you can stay here with us, in this community, if you leave the US, Joe would be unable to use any of those contacts, and I have some contacts outside the States. It he were to find you, however, you would be helpless. Here, you would be safe, but, the chances of you being found is much higher, it's all up to you, Stephanie, truly it is."

Stephanie had always wanted to go out of the country, but that was before she got married. If she left this place she could be in danger, but if she stayed in this place, Joe might find her. she would be surrounded by people who cared. Even if Joe showed his ugly mug….

"I think I'll stay here," Stephanie said softly, watching Heidi smile at her choice, "But, I can't stay here and not help around, what could I do?"

"Well, I don't know," Heidi said tapping her chin, "What did you do in New Jersey?"

"I worked at a bank, before Joe made me quit, and before that, I was working as a lingerie buyer, but they were closed down for money laundering." Stephanie said with the shrug of her shoulders, "I did go to college for business and marketing."

Heidi frowned and said, "Well… Diesel doesn't like help, Jeanne and Lester are a team, hmm…well….Carlos has been complaining about the amount of space he doesn't have anymore, due to all the paperwork he has. He bases his company here, and, I'm not going to lie, it's pretty big. He could use a secretary, If you don't mind clerical work and junk."

"I don't mind, as long as I'm pulling my weight around here," Stephanie said with a smile, "Besides, it would be something new to me, and It would keep me busy."

"I have to warn you," Heidi said with a smile, "Carlos is a demanding person, so don't be mad if he's too hard on you, he's a man who likes order and control."

'I hope I can live up to his standards," Stephanie said nervously, tapping her foot, "it's been a while since I've really worked a job."

"It'll be easy getting back in the swing of it-"Heidi started, but the pitter patter of small feet had the two quiet.

Stephanie watched as a small hands gripped the side of the archway that led to the living room. A small head peered from the other side, and Stephanie found herself being stared by a little girl, who looked to be no older than 4. Stephanie gave the girl a small smile and a hand wave, before the little girl gave a big smile and ran over to the two women. She was dressed in a pair of pink capris and a white t-shirt with a flower on it. she was barefooted and had short curly black hair, which were in pigtails. She was the color of milk chocolate and had eyes of soft dove grey.

The girl gave Stephanie another shy smile, before she motioned for Heidi to pick her up. Heidi smiled and lifted the girl up from underneath her armpits and said, 'Hello, my wonderful flower, you slept in today, did you stay up all night with the women?"

"Mhmm," The girl said shyly, burying her head in Heidi's shoulder, "We watched lots of movies too!"

"Well good," Heidi said rubbing the child's back, "And I bet you ate lots of junk food too."

"Not a lot," the girl said, looking up at Heidi, with her big grey eyes, "Only some chocolate and frenchy fries and some pizza, and some ice cream…"

"Oh, I hope you only took a bite out of each food item," Heidi said, letting the girl slide down off her, "okay, why don't you go see what Diesel's doing in the kitchen, I bet he's making cookies right now, and you know how he likes to make cookies."

"Big cookies!" The girl squealed, running away, not before she leaned up and kissed Heidi's cheek.

"She's too cute," Stephanie said with a smile, watching the girl scamper off, "Is she the child to one of the women you're helping?"

"Oh no, she's mine," Heidi said softly, watching Stephanie's eyes widen with shock, "Yep, I had her almost five years ago, back when I was 20, back when I was young and dumb."

"Oh," Stephanie said, watching the faraway look enter Heidi's eyes, "she's adorable, she's perfect."

"She's one of the only few things that I've done right in my life," Heidi muttered, looking at the walls, "I wouldn't trade he away for anything."

Heidi turned to Stephanie and said, "Her name is Samantha, but we all call her Sammy around here, if you want, we can go see Carlos right now, I'm sure he could use some help right now."

"That would be perfect," Stephanie said getting up with Heidi, "I could use the distraction."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Joe let out a grunt as the three quick and loud knocks vibrated off his front door. He really didn't want to get up and answer the door, but, he hadn't been seen for a bit, not since Stephanie left him. That bitch. Joe didn't want to the neighbors to think him dead, maybe if he went to shoo the guest away, he could go back to planning Stephanie's death, all while drinking.

Joe got up from the couch, and made his way over to the door, answering it with a curt, "I don't want what you're selling."

"Ah, but I think you do," A soft male voice said, as Joe opened the door, "I truly think you do."

Joe took a good hard look at the man in front of him. He was a sharp looking man, with black hair that was short and wavy, in a neat cut, deep grey eyes that look sharper than Joe had ever seen, smooth skin that was blemish free and all of this was wrapped in a expensive suit that would have cost Joe three of his salaries.

Why was this rich fucker in his neck of the woods?

"What do you want, asshole, I'm trying to get drunk in peace," Joe said, making to close to the door on the man's face, "Fuck, a man can't get drunk without people knocking on his door-"

"I'm here about your wife," The man said in a louder voice, making Joe catch the slight European accent he had, "The one that you told people that went missing."

"What about that cunt?" Joe asked, leaning against the door frame, "She's nothing special, in fact, the bitch can't even give good head."

"Well, that is between you and your wife, what I'm interested in is if she had any help 'disappearing,' you see, I've been tracking the missing case reports of women, especially those whose spouses have beat them into the hospital a few times."

Joe growled and said, "If you think-"

"Oh, I know you beat your wife, or used to," The man said to Joe, "But, I want to know if she had any help….you see, I can help you, if you help me. All I want is to find the person who helped your wife leave you."

"And in retun?" Joe asked, looking at the man and sniffing.

"And in return, you get to have your wife again, and I pay you 100,000 dollars for your support," The man said with a smile, a smile that seemed unnatural, "All you have to do is help me track down the person who helped your wife leave."

Joe gave this man a long hard look. If they found Stephanie, he'd get her back, and 100k! Shit, that would make him quite happy, and that bitch will know what happened if you left a Morelli, "Alright, why don't we finish this chat inside, these old people love to gossip."

"Excellent…" The man said, entering the house behind Joe, "We've lots of things to talk about."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Carlos would have cried tears of happiness, if he were a weaker man. Heidi had accompanied Stephanie over to his office, and told him that Stephanie would be his new secretary, and would help him with his business.

"Go easy on her, Carlos," Heidi said with a stern look, making Carlos chuckle, "We don't want to scare her off, right?"

"Right," Carlos said nodding his head to Heidi's retreating form and turning to Stephanie, "If you want, we can set up a desk for you, and then you can help me sort out the payroll, I hate payroll, and if you can make it better by helping me out, I would really welcome it."

Stephanie gave Carlos a bright smile and said, "I use to help with payroll at the bank, it shouldn't be a problem, Carlos, just don' ask me to bring you a coffee."

"You got it, Babe," Carlos said making Stephanie blush, "Now, let's go see if we can wrangle you up a desk and a chair, and maybe some office supplies."

Stephanie smiled and said, "lead the way, Carlos."

TBC…

Reviews are loved, I love your feedback! :T


	6. Feeling Fine

Chapter 6, Enjoy! Disclaimer in the first chapter

Warning: Implied Self infliction!

Trapped

_Feeling Fine_

"Sammy," Diesel said, walking over to the small child, who sat at the long table, eating cookies and drinking chocolate milk, "Did you have fun at the sleepover?"

"Mhmm!" Sammy said, kicking her legs up, "We watched movies and I ate a lot of food too."

Diesel sat down beside the child and ran a large hand over her small head. Sammy smiled and leaned into the touch and then said, "I wish you were really my daddy, Diesel, that way, Mommy doesn't hurt so much."

Diesel nodded her head and said, "I know, Sammy, I know, why are you saying this now, sweetheart?"

"The other night, before I went to the sleepover, Mommy woke up screaming and then she stopped screaming and went to the box and took out the thing that makes the red stuff come out of her arm. Diesel, why does she do that?"

Diesel sighed and hugged Sammy to her, "It's because Mommy is hurting real bad, sweetheart, and she doesn't know how to properly heal the hurt."

"Can you help her heal the hurt?" Sammy asked, looking up at Diesel with big eyes, "I know how much you love Mommy, maybe you can help her."

"I….I try, baby," Diesel said, hugging the child, "I try baby, but, Mommy, she needs more help than I can give her."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Heidi," A soft male voice said in the nearly empty living room, "We need to talk."

"We always need to talk," Heidi said, shuffling things into a wicker basket, "There's nothing to talk about, Donny, I told you, I'm fine."

"Oh, you're fine," The man named Donny said, walking over to where Heidi stood, at the work table, "Tell me, Heidi, when was the last time you had a slip up?"

Heidi turned to look at the older man and said, "Not for a while, Donny, like a month ago, pardon me, I have to lead a group talk about signs of abuse."

Heidi let out a yelp of pain as Donny grabbed her arm. Donny turned her arm to expose the underside and he said, in a low voice, "Heidi, these cuts, some of them are only days old, they're freshly scabbed over."

Heidi snatched her arm away and said, "I only had one slip up, I had a nightmare, it was…livid…"

"Heidi, I told you, that you need to come to me after an episode, I'm always going to be here for you."

"I know that, but right now," Heidi said, rubbing her arm, "There's someone else you should be talking to, a newcomer, her name is Stephanie, she just came in last night, I would like it, if you could make time in your busy schedule to talk to her."

"I can talk to her now," Donny said with a soft smile, placing a hand on Heidi's shoulder, "Albeit, it may have been five years since you've escaped your own hell, the wounds are still festering, Heidi, I'm here to help you, I'm not here to coddle you or anything."

"I know that, Donny," Heidi said softly, looking down at the floor, her eyes hard, "You needn't remind me of it, now please, go talk to Stephanie, she's in Carlos's office, okay?"

Donny nodded his head and said, "Please, just, if you feel the urge to do it again, please, just come to me, quickly, I don't care what time it is, if I'm in a session or not, I want you to find me."

"Okay, I will," Heidi nodded her head and turned to leave to go to her group, "I promise you, I will."

Donny nodded his head, and then he left, going through the massive house to get to Carlos's office. Heidi leaned on the wall, the wicker basket on in her hands dropping onto the floor, its content spilling on the floor. Heidi closed her eyes and her body began to shake with sobs, she had tried so hard to bury it inside, so hard to get over it, but Donny was right, it still lingered on, festering and churning in something rotten, something that was slowly eating away at her soul.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Payroll isn't a hardship," Stephanie said as she typed away on the computer she was given, "especially with easy to use software, such as Quickbooks and access, or why don't you hire someone else to do your accounting.'

Carlos placed a hand on the desk, close to Stephanie and said, "Well, I could, but, since I do other work, for Heidi, I thought that I could handle the books."

"Hmm, well, I got you Quickbooks, this should help with your jumbled figures and finances." Stephanie said with a smile, looking over to Carlos, "And access is a great program to keep your figures in and to stay organized."

"I didn't learn this stuff, while I was going to school," Carlos said, before he walked over to his desk, "They really didn't teach this in the military, all they taught was how to use a gun and how to take orders."

"Oh, you were a military guy," Stephanie said softly, looking over to Carlos, who nodded his head, going back to his paperwork, 'What were you, Marines? Airforce?"

"Army," Carlos said with a smile, jotting something down, "Special forces, I did the missions no one knows about."

"Must have been scary," Stephanie said, as she typed on the computer, "Knowing you could die any moment."

"Death, and I," Carlos said softly, looking over to Stephanie, Death and I, we've come to terms with each other, but now, I'm retired, I no longer work for the military, I help out with Heidi now, and run my security firm."

Stephanie opened her mouth to speak, but the door to Carlos's office opened, and then a man with greying brown hair walked in, with soft green eyes and a friendly face. He wore a green polo t-shirt, and a pair of khaki slacks with brown loafers. He gave the two a soft smile and said, "Am I interrupting an important meeting, or can I take Ms. Stephanie off your hands for a bit, I know it must have been a busy day for her, and I thought I'd end it with a nice chat."

Carlos inclined his head and said, 'She's all yours, she's been a big help, thanks Babe."

"You're Welcome, Carlos," Stephanie said, before following the man and leaving the room, "See you soon."

Stephanie turned to the man who walked casually through the hallway, and out to the porch that Stephanie was slowly falling in love with. He sat down on the swinging chair and said, "Come on and sit beside me, Stephanie, my name is Donny, and I'm a Psychologist specializing in mental and physical trauma."

Stephanie sat down on the swing chair beside Donny, and said, "I don't need a therapist, I'm feeling fine."

Donny nodded his head and said, "Okay, it's alright to be fine, but I have a question; how do you feel, now that you're away from your husband?"

"I feel great," Stephanie said with a smile, leaning back against the chair, "It feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, I haven't felt this well in a long time."

"Well that's good," Donny said, lifting his ankle up and placing it on his knee, "Have you had any problems with sleeping, focusing on small and big tasks?"

"No," Stephanie said, biting her lip, concerned, "Should I be? Should I be crying, or having nightmares, should I be falling apart at the slightest sounds and touches?"

"Some people cope differently than others," Donny said to Stephanie, his green eyes soft, "You could be feeling fine, with no problems, or, you could be bottling it in, waiting for the right moment, but bottling your emotions is a dangerous thing, Stephanie. it's alright if you have a good cry, it doesn't make you weak, or helpless, sometimes, crying is the best medicine around."

Stephanie nodded her head and said, "I'll keep that in mind, but, I haven't been feeling like I needed to cry or break down."

"Alright, I think I've kept you to myself long enough, I'll let you go, though, if you need to talk to me, I'm free anytime," Donny said, watching as Stephanie got up from the chair, "Dinner should be ready now, Diesel said he was making roasted chicken for all the ladies in the Midway home."

"The Midway home…." Stephanie said softly, looking back at Donny, "Why is this house called the Midway home?"

"It's a transitional place for the men and women Heidi helps out. They stay here for a few days, get their documents and then they go to the community that Heidi has set up, or else they go somewhere else internationally." Donny said to Stephanie, watching the information settle in, "The only permanent fixtures in this place are Heidi, her child, Diesel, Carlos, Jeanne, Lester and I."

Stephanie made a sound and said, "So, I'll be moving into the community soon, right?"

"That's the plan," Donny said with a smile, getting up from the chair as well, "Now, come along, we have to go and get some chicken before it's all eaten."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Here you go, Stephanie," Jeanne said, giving Stephanie a black folder, "This has all your important papers, birth certificate, social security, driver's license, passport, the works, your new name is Stephanie Florence, and Stephanie is spelled –S-t-e-p-h-a-n-y-e, you're 34, with black hair and blue eyes."

"Black hair?" Stephanie said, her eyes wide with horror, "But, I don't have Black hair…."

"Oh, well what do you know," Jeanne said with an innocent smile, "I guess we're going to have to change your hair color, there's a woman here, by the name of Lula, she's the best beautician around, when she colors hair, she makes sure that the root aren't showing!"

"I feel safe knowing that," Stephanie said, pulling a curl out, "I take it we're going to get this done tomorrow?"

"Yep," Jeanne said sitting down beside Lester, "After Lester and I go out and buy groceries."

"Where are the other women at?" Stephanie asked, looking at the nearly empty table, "I'm sure they must be hungry."

"They're still in the group meetings, I supposed," Donny said, helping himself to whatever Diesel laid out, "They'll be here soon, Diesel you've outdone yourself, where's your small shadow, she's never too far away from you."

"Oh, Sammy's with Carlos, in the city, he had to go pick up something, and took her with him." Diesel said, sitting down, "Heidi's always on us about spoiling her, but, I can't help it…"

Diesel paused, taking out a red phone that was going off, "Sorry, it's no one important."

"No one important my ass," Jeanne said, giving Diesel a look, "Didn't Heidi tell you not to ignore those calls?"

"She's not here to tell me off now," Diesel said with a huff, putting his phone in his pocket.

"Diesel," A voice snapped, making the occupants at the table turn and see Heidi, with her hands on her hips, giving Diesel a glare, "You, come here, now!"

Diesel ignored the, "You're gonna get it now," from Jeanne, and got up to follow the small woman into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

Jeanne made to get up to eavesdrop, but Donny grabbed her and said, "Sit, you overgrown child."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"You lied to me," Heidi said to the man in front of her, "You told me that you were off duty, which was why you're still here, instead, you've been ignoring their calls! Diesel, you know what they'll do if they have to search for you!"

Diesel placed his hands on Heidi's' arms and said, "Heidi, I can't leave you alone, I'm-"

"You can and you will," Heidi said, pushing Diesel's arms off her, "Damn it! I'm not alone, I'm surrounded by people! A community I set up and my child is here! Diesel, you can leave for a few days! Go!"

"What about you, Heidi, Sammy told me that you were cutting," Diesel said grabbing Heidi's arm and looking down at it, "Damn it! you told me you hadn't had a slip up in ages! Heidi, this is why I don't want to leave you, I might come home, and someone's going to tell me that you cut too deep-"

Diesel cupped Heidi's chin and said, "I lost you once, and I'll be damned if you slip from my fingertips again."

Heidi's resolve broke, and then she hugged Diesel and said, "You needn't worry about me, I'm fine, I'll be fine, tell you what, I'll go back to talking to Donny, if you leave, tonight, and go deal with those people."

"Okay," Diesel said with a chuckle, before he ran his thumb over Heidi's lips, "do you mind, if I kiss you?"

"I don't want to taint you," Heidi said, turning her head away, "They're tainted, I'm tainted-"

"No," Diesel said, firmly, turning Heidi's head and looking into her amber eyes, "You're not tainted, do you hear me?"

"I hear you," Heidi said softly, her eyes downcast, making Diesel give her a sharp look.

"No, do you really hear me, Heidi?" Diesel asked, placing his hand over the area of Heidi's heart, "In here?"

Heidi placed her hand over Diesel's and said, "Yes, I do,"

Diesel leaned in and kissed Heidi gently and said, "I'll leave after dinner, okay"

"Okay," Heidi said with a smile, leaning up and kissing Diesel again, "Now, let's go eat."

Heidi let Diesel wrap his arm around her shoulders and lead her back into the kitchen.

TBC...

Reviews are loved, I love your feedback!


	7. Cockroach

Chapter 7 Enjoy, Disclaimer in first chapter!

WARNING: Self-Harm, implied Rape

Trapped

_Cockroach_

Heidi sat up straight in her bed, her eyes wide with terror, and a scream caught in her throat. Her mouth was covered with her hands. Her body shook with silent sobs, tears pouring down her face. The nightmare had been livid, one of her worse yet. Heidi slid out the bed, mindful of her sleeping daughter, and over to the vanity that was in the room. She pulled open several drawers, before, with shaking hands, she took out a tiny wooden box. Heidi sighed and opened the box, pulling out something that glinted in the moonlight that bathed the large room; a small razor blade.

Heidi shuddered, twisting her arm, resting the sharp tip of the blade on her arm. She let out a hiss, as she dragged the blade across her arm, watching as the blood welled up from the wound she created. Heidi shuddered, a smile of relief forming on her mouth, she sliced her arm again, and again, and again and again-

"Mommy," Sammy's sleepy voice cut through the thick silence, "Mommy, where are you mommy?"

Heidi quickly shuffled the blade back into the wooden box, stuffed the box into her vanity and said, in a quick voice, "I had to get up and go to the bathroom, sweetie, hold on, I'll be back."

"'Kay Mommy," Sammy said, turning to go back to sleep.

Heidi let out a soft sob, walking into the bathroom, and turning the lights on. She rinsed her arm, which was now covered in blood. She placed white gauze on the wounds she created and then left the bathroom, and climbed back in the bed with Sammy. Heidi wrapped her arms around her daughter and said, "Go back to sleep, baby."

Heidi nuzzled her child's head, closing her eyes to sleep, praying that the dreams don't return.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie leaned back in desk chair, looking at the reports Carlos needed to be mailed off today. She ran her hand through her now inky black locks, which were now straight and fell past her shoulders. The woman who did Stephanie's hair, Lula, had become one of her best friends. Lula was a heavy set black woman, who always had her hair styled differently everyday. She was in the community because her boyfriend beat her black and blue, and broke through several of the restraining orders to stalk her. He almost killed her the last time. Lula had a great personality, and, in her own way, could make Stephanie's day a little but brighter.

Speaking of someone making her days brighter, Stephanie turned to watch as Carlos let a puff of air, something he only did when he was stuck with payroll, or else something happened with a client. In the last two months that Stephanie's been at the Midway Home, she and Carlos had formed a wonderful friendship. Stephanie didn't think she was ready for an intimate relationship, the mental wounds that Joe left her, they were still raw and sore, healing at a slow pace. Stephanie was positive that if Carlos wanted a relationship with her, he would be patient and wait until Stephanie was ready for it, and wouldn't push her into any commitment.

"Is it payroll again?" Stephanie asked looking over to Carlos, who sighed again, looking up at Stephanie.

"Having problems with a client, They want it all, at the basic package price, I can afford to turn them down, but they won't stop hounding me."

"I see," Stephanie said, looking over to Carlos and letting out a puff of air, "Well, we're going to have to give them an ultimatum, you either buy it at full price, or we block their calls."

"Sounds like a plan," Carlos said, looking up at Stephanie, "Babe, how are you feeling?"

"Good," Stephanie said with a sigh, looking over to Carlos, "I haven't really have any problems with nightmares or anything, it's kind of surreal, Carlos, like, those five years with Joe didn't really exist."

"We all heal differently," Carlos said, placing a hand on Stephanie's arm, "You're just handling it way better than most people."

"I just, I just have a feeling, that if I dwell on it for too long, it'll only affect me even more, Carlos," Stephanie said softly, sitting on the edge of Carlos's desk, "I have to be strong to move on, it's what I'm learning in the group classes with Heidi and the other women in the Midway House."

"You're a strong woman, Stephanie," Carlos said with a soft smile, "Who knows, maybe your strength will rub off on Heidi."

"Heidi's pretty strong," Stephanie protested looking over to Carlos, "She set this whole thing up, She's helping thousands of women-"

"There's a reason why she set this all up," Carlos said softly to Stephanie, his eyes serious, "But, it's not my place to tell, maybe, when she's ready to, she'll tell you."

"Uncle Carlos," Stephanie turned to see Sammy standing in the open door way of his office, holding a stuffed bunny to her chest, "Uncle Carlos, Stephanie, I'm booored!"

"Oh are you?" Carlos asked, going over to Sammy and picking up the child, and settling her on his hip, "Well, why don't you spend time with me and Stephanie, and draw Mommy a picture, where's mommy?"

"Mommy and Donny are having a talk, this morning, Donny found Mommy's arm covered in band aids, and there were covered in red stuff," Sammy said softly to Carlos, as she buried her head in his neck, "Why does Mommy hurt herself?"

Carlos rubbed Heidi's back and said in a soft voice, "I don't know, why don't you spend the rest of the day with Stephanie and I, Mommy and Donny have been talking since he found her band aids, right?"

"Right," Sammy said, looking up at Carlos, "I was with Jeanne and Lester, since Diesel's still away."

"I don't think you'll be seeing Mommy until tomorrow morning," Carlos said, walking over to his desk and placing Sammy on top of it, "Now, why don't we draw Mommy a picture."

Stephanie found the box of crayons that Carlos kept in the office for Sammy, and placed the girl on the rug area, along with the crayons and paper. Stephanie walked over to Carlos and asked, "What's wrong with Heidi?"

"She had a slip up this morning," Carlos sighed, sitting back in his office seat, "I'm really concerned about her, She's been slipping up lately, she won't talk to anyone about it, Donny must have gotten sick and tired of it, and forced her to talk to him."

"Slip up, what did she slip on up on?" Stephanie asked, now feeling out of the loop.

"Cutting," Carlos said, placing a hand on Stephanie's arm, "Heidi cuts herself."

"Cutting…that's….why would she…she…"Stephanie said, sitting down, her hands on her chest, "Is it that bad?"

Carlos let out a sound and said, "It's worse than you think, Stephanie."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"You can sit there and be silent, but we're not leaving this room, until you talk to me," Donny said, giving Heidi a pointed look, tapping his finger on the jeans he wore, "I have an obligation, as a doctor, and yes, Heidi, you did forget, that I'm a doctor, and as one, I'm morally obligated to report any self-inflicted injuries to the proper authorities."

Heidi looked and gave Donny a look, "You wouldn't…no! You can't send me to some crazy house!"

"I can," Donny said, getting up and walking over to Heidi, "I feel that I have to, Heidi, you won't open up to me! How do you think your child feels? She sees you hurting yourself, what kind of example are you giving her?!"

"I…" Donny sighed and hugged Heidi, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close, "You can't bottle it up, all this hurt, all this trauma, it's harming you, and your child."

Donny let go of Heidi and looked into her amber eyes, seeing them full of tears, "Now, tell me, what set you off early this morning?"

"I had a dream, it was about me going out with my husband," Heidi said rubbing her face, tears leaking down her face, "That night….he, he went ahead of me to the restaurant, calling a cab for me to get there. I was 17 at the time…"

"You did get married at a very young age," Donny said softly, sitting beside Heidi, who nodded her head, "Different customs and the like, I supposed, right?"

"Yes," Heidi said, closing her eyes, "He told me that it would be a surprise, he wanted me to be surprised. It was our anniversary, we had been married for a year, a hellish one year, I thought he was turning over a new leaf….I thought he was making up for all of it!"

Heidi let out a loud sob and said, "The cabbie drove me to the bad part of the city. My husband gave him the directions, and then the cabbie demanded I get out, I was so scared….I didn't know what to do!"

"You were only 17, it's quite understandable that you were terrified," Donny said watching Heidi break down, "Can you tell me the rest."

"I got out the cab, and the cabbie took off, and there I stood, alone, in this smelly run down area, dressed up to the nines for a romantic dinner with my husband and then….." Heidi said her eyes far away, "They came out, all these homeless men, coming for me…so many of them…so many of them…I tried to fight them off, but-in the end, they got what they wanted, right? My husband gave me to them, he gave me to a bunch of homeless men, and his reason was because he could. He told me that it was my fault, that if I hadn't made him angry the day before, I wouldn't have gotten gang raped by a group of homeless men. It was my punishment, and I believed him."

"That's a very traumatic event, Heidi," Donny said softly, placing a soothing hand on Heidi's shoulder, "And for it to happen to you, at such a young age."

Donny lifted Heidi's chin up and said, "You don't need to hurt yourself Heidi, I know you do it to feel some sort of control over yourself, but, you needn't do it now, you got your life back, Heidi, and you have a child that depends on you, A man who is madly in love with you, and several friends and close ones who want nothing but the best for you."

Donny took out a prescription pad, and said, "I'm going to prescribe you some baby valium, I really don't want to, but if these flashbacks and dreams are really giving you these types of reactions, then it's needed. Take one pill, if the anxiety becomes too much. I also want every single blade from your room. I hate treating you like a child, Heidi, but, I don't want you to harm yourself."

Donny held out Heidi's arm, which was covered in blood stained gauze and said, "I never, ever want to see you like this again, what did I tell you, you come to me, if you're feeling this bad, okay?"

"Okay, I will," Heidi said hugging Donny, "I will, I promise you, Donny,"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"My darling wife was everything I hoped for," The grey eyed man said to Joe as they walked through the FBI headquarters, "I married her when she was very young, barely past the age of 16."

"Shit, how'd you managed that?" Joe asked the sharply dressed man as he walked through a doorway.

"Silly human," The man said under his breath, before he spoke, in a loud tone, "I forced her to married me, It was quite easy blackmailing her, you see, she was in love with a colleague of ours. Of course, inter office relationships were forbidden, and I told her that I would tell the higher ups that she and her lover were having sex. Of course, her lover was too fucking noble to be fucking her at age 16, they were waiting until she was legal."

Joe watched as the man did another creepy smile, "Our wedding night was quite fun, her screams of agony were so divine…."

"I bet they were divine," Joe grunted as they made their way into a private office, "SO, why are we here in this office, how will this help me find my cupcake."

"The occupant of this office will be here shortly-ah, here he is."

Joe turned and watched as a an older man with grey hair and black eyes walked into the office. When the older man saw the pair, he paused and let out a sigh, "I should have never made a deal with a demon."

"Indeed you shouldn't have," The sharply dressed man said, walking over to the older man, "And now, you're paying for it, I need access to the FBI database, and all open cases of missing women in the United States in the last year, and then, I need several of your agents on my beck and call, when I find my darling wife, she'll have to be punished."

Joe nodded his head and said, "I can't wait to get my cupcake back, She'll never see the light of day again, once I'm done with her."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Diesel let out a puff of air, gripping the folder, he was fucking glad that he was forced to go play the messenger and grab some files for the agency he worked with. Diesel let out a sound, looking over to the open office. He shook his head and said, "I thought I fucking killed you, like a fucking cockroach, you always come back…."

Diesel walked away from the office, Heidi was going to flip brick when she found out that her husband was somehow still alive.

TBC….

Reviews are loved, I love your feedback.


	8. Broken Rules

Sorry about the delay! working on my original work! Enjoy chapter 8!

Disclaimers and warnings in first chapter!

_Trapped_

_Broken Rules_

"Heidi," Stephanie said walking into Heidi's private office and sitting down in the chair across from her, "You called me?"

"Yep, I sure did," Heidi said, looking up at the woman, a smile on her face, "I wanted to tell you, I found a place for you, in the community!"

"Oh…that's great." Stephanie said softly, watching Heidi shuffle through a file on her desk, "I'm really…happy."

"It's a cute cottage near the community park, your bedroom window looks out at it," Heidi said, taking a picture out and showing Stephanie her home, "Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, open concept plan, all the appliances are updated, The water pressure is-"

"I don't want to leave the Midway Home," Stephanie blurted out, looking over to Heidi, making Heidi pause and look at the woman in front of her, "I want to live in the Midway Home, with all of you."

"Oh…." Heidi said putting the folder down to look at Stephanie, "Oh…Okay….okay…..well, uh…okay! I don't see that being a problem, you're the first person to ask a request like this, usually the people I help are quick to jump on a placement in the community. I think it's because they really can't handle the people that just come in."

"Why is that?" Stephanie asked, Heidi, watching her place the folder in her desk, "I'm sure they wouldn't mind the intake of people."

"Some of the men and women I rescue come from places that are like hell on earth," Heidi said clasping her hands together, "Some come from homes where their spouses treated them like cattle, selling them off to the highest bidders, beating them near to death, some of them have injuries that disfigure them for life. I try to house the people in the Midway Home into the community as quickly as possible, because, I don't know how the people would react, if I had to bring in a woman whose husband threw acid on her face. It only took me a bit for you, because the home I had for you, needed repairs."

Stephanie nodded her head, looking away from Heidi's face, Heidi was making sure that everyone was comfortable, she didn't want anyone to feel like they were in a situation that they couldn't handle. Maybe that's why she built the community, did she…

"Did that happen to you?" Stephanie asked, watching Heidi sit back, tapping the end of pencil on the wooden desk, "Did you-"

"Two months, after I began helping out abused men and women, I had gotten an emergency call from a woman, whose husband…her-her husband….he uh…" Heidi took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "Her husband took a motorized sander, and took it to her face. How she called me, I don't know how, but luckily, she was only moments away from here."

Stephanie's hands flew to her face and she said, "That's so horrible!"

"I know," Heidi said, leaning forward, "The poor woman, we came back with her in the middle of an activity, the children, and women…after than night, I created the community, that way, the women and men that are here are not in the Midway home, so they don't have to see something like that again."

"It must be expensive to upkeep this community, how do you afford it?" Stephanie asked Heidi, who smiled and waved her hand, "I mean, you traveled across the USA to get to me."

"Oh, my husband was a wealthy man, he died a few years back, and I got his money," Heidi said shrugging her shoulders, "I'm not talking about a little bit of money, my husband was quite wealthy. I haven't even made a dent in the money yet. Plus, with all the money Carlos helped me invest in businesses, I have more than enough money for several lifetimes."

"Oh," Stephanie hadn't thought about Heidi being rich, let alone a wealthy widow. Stephanie was learning something new every day as she stayed in this community.

"Well, since you've decided to stay with us at the Midway Home," Heidi said leaning back in her chair again, "Maybe you should begin to actively participate with me saving people in situations that you had to deal with."

"What could I do?" Stephanie asked, a bit stunned as to what Heidi asked her to do, "I don't know much about saving women from abusers."

"You do," Heidi said her voice serious, "Don't sell yourself short, Stephanie, you could help out several women, just by being by their side. Sometimes, having a person for solid support is all that's really needed to make a change."

"I know that feeling," Stephanie said softly, "I didn't have one, my mother told me that it was my fault that I was being slapped around by my husband, she told me that I wasn't obeying my husband enough, if I had listened to him the first time, I wouldn't have been slapped around."

Heidi coughed suddenly, looked down at the surface of her desk and said in a surprisingly dark voice, "She's no better than the man who gave you your bruises, to let her child go through this, there's not a deeper pit in the bowels of hell for people like her."

Stephanie was a bit stunned as to what Heidi just said, but she didn't have time to dwell on it, as the door to Heidi's office busted open. Carlos walked in, his face grim, Sammy settled on his hip. He turned to Heidi and said, "We have a problem, Heidi, one of the women you rescued, called their husband, he's outside now, he said he's going to call the police if he doesn't see his wife soon."

"Fuck," Heidi said, before she got up and followed Carlos and Sammy out the office, "Fuck, fuck, fuck…."

"Mommy said a swear word!" Sammy said burying her head in Carlos's neck, "Mommy, that's ten minutes in time out!"

"Yes, I'll go to time out, once I rectify this problem." Heidi said as the group walked down the hallway and outside the house, into the waiting chaos.

Stephanie let out a sound as Carlos gave Sammy to her, as they stepped out onto the porch, where a crowd of women stood, watching as Lester and Jeanne were talking, well, arguing with a man, who waving to the house, and then back to the two. Stephanie lifted Sammy higher and said, "Let's stay right here, okay Sammy?"

"'Kay," Sammy said burying her face in Stephanie's neck.

"I demand to see my wife!" The man said to Jeanne and Lester, pointing to the house, "She called me and told me to come and get her!"

"Get off my property," Heidi said walking over to where Jeanne, Lester and the man stood, "I don't care who you're here for, but you are on my land, threatening to call the police for kidnapping someone who isn't even here."

"SO it's you hiding my wife," The man said, trying to push past Lester and Jeanne, to get to Heidi, "Give me back my wife, you fucking cunt!"

"Get off my lawn…" Heidi repeated, her eyes dark, "Before I call the cops on you!"

"Candice!" The man roared, trying to push past Lester, "Candice! You need to come out, Hiding in the home of this fucking whore, this fucking five dollar whore!"

Stephanie felt Sammy shift in her arms, and say, "Donny! Donny, there's a bad man here, saying bad words."

Stephanie turned to Donny, saying, "Donny-" but Donny shushed her, walking off the porch and over to Carlos.

"You fucking slut," The man hissed to Heidi, "Hiding my fucking wife! I bet you're fucking every man here, like the fucking slut you are!"

"It's time for you to leave," Carlos said, walking up to the man, "Now, before we make you leave, your wife is not here!"

"She called me last night, she gave me the address, I know she's here! Now, give me my WIFE!" The man boomed to Heidi, watching her falter, "Yeah, that's right you fucking cunt, your name is Heidi, right?! That's what Candice told me your name was, give me my wife back."

"Heidi," Carlos said softly, placing a hand on Heidi's shoulder.

Heidi turned and said to the man, "Stay here," before she walked back onto the porch, zeroing on a blond haired, blue eye woman, "Candice, what was it that I told you? What was the first rule I told you!"

" Not to contact the person I left I'm so sorry Heidi," the woman named Candice said, tears in her eyes, "I-I missed him!"

"You missed him?" Heidi asked, her voice rising, "You missed him?! Did you miss his fists? As they rained down on you? Did you miss him kicking you around, leaving you black and blue?!"

"He said he would change, he won't do it again!" Candice said making Heidi nod her head, her hands on her hips.

"Okay, oaky," Heidi said softly, shaking her head, "Well, go on, pack your stuff up and go with him, you called him right?! Gave him the directions to this place where battered women and men go so they could feel safe. You may have well have put every person hiding here in danger, get out, go on, I can't help those, who can't help themselves!"

Stephanie watched as Candice scurried back into the house, only to come out moments later with a bag. Candice gave Heidi a look and said, "He only means the best…."

"You can't come back, Candice," Heidi said softly to the woman, her amber eyes hard, "If you need help again, you can't call me."

Candice smiled and said, "Well, I won't be back, I won't need to be," walking past Heidi and the group of women, "He's changed!"

"That's what they always say," Stephanie said, startling the group, "And then when your husband gets angry, because the meatloaf is under cook, what are you going to say when he throws the pan at you, oh, he's trying to change, it'll get better soon."

Candice shook her head and said, "He has changed, he's not going to hit me again, he promised me," before she walked off the porch and went over to where the man stood, waiting for her.

Stephanie sighed and hugged Sammy to her, turning to look at Heidi, who hugged herself, shaking slightly. Carlos placed a hand on Stephanie's shoulder and said, "Come on, let's go take Sammy to get an ice cream cone in town, Donny wants to talk to Heidi alone."

Sammy smiled, perking up at the idea of ice cream, and quickly jumped into Carlos's arms. Stephanie followed Carlos off the porch, but not before taking a quick glance at Heidi, who was talking in hushed voices to Donny, who had an arm wrapped around her waist, leading her into the house, past the group of shocked women.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"I can't believe she went back to that piece of scum," Stephanie muttered, looking at Sammy eat her sundae, "He's going to beat her into an early grave, he's never going to change, is he, Carlos?"

"Men like that never do," Carlos said, pushing his frozen yogurt away from him, "I thought Candice was stronger than that, she talked about how he would sweet talk his way back into her life, she told us all that she would never fall for his tricks again."

Stephanie finished her ice cream and then said in a low voice, "I'm glad that Joe never made promises not to hit me after he did, at least he had the decency not to lie to me."

Stephanie felt Carlos grab her hand and say in a soft voice, "He should have never put his hands on you, Stephanie, you're too wonderful and too beautiful of a woman for him to do so."

Stephanie blushed as Carlos gripped her hand tighter, and leaned in closer, "The most decent thing that bastard could have done for you, was to never marry you, you deserved much better."

It had been a long time since Stephanie felt butterflies in her stomach. Being around Carlos, it made something in her click. Carlos made her feel like a woman, not like just any woman, but a beautiful one. Carlos had helped her slowly build up her confidence, and her self esteem, he wasn't playing her for a fool either, everything that came from his mouth was true. From the way he called her Babe, to the way he would give her compliments about the small things that most men would over look. Carlos was making Stephanie feel feminine again, and damn it, she missed the feeling of being looked upon as a woman, and not as a piece of property.

Heidi looked down at the mocha colored hand over hers and said, "And the most decent thing you've ever done for me Carlos, is make me feel like a real woman again."

"You've always been a real woman, Babe," Carlos said with a smile, his hands tightening on her hand, "It just the fact that the wrong man got to you."

"Uncle Carlos!" Sammy said, looking up at the adults, "Do you think Mommy would like some ice cream too?"

"I think she would love some ice cream, but, let's just enjoy the time we have together, before we have to go back to the community."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"The women are concerned that Candice is going to expose the location of this place," Heidi said, rocking back and forth, her eyes far off, "They're scared that their husbands will come, and then forced them to go home with them, I can't let that happen."

Donny placed a hand on Heidi's shoulder and said, "Jeanne went down to the police station in town, they're going to stop all unauthorized vehicles from coming up the dirt road that leads to here, the mayor said he'll help change the address, down to the zip code, to our community and the locals will shoo off anyone inquiring about this place."

Donny paused and sat down beside Heidi, who was still rocking, "He triggered a memory, didn't he. I saw it in your eyes, when he called you a five dollar whore."

Heidi sighed, closing her eyes and nodding her head, "It's been a while since I've been called a five dollar whore. Unsavory memories…something I haven't told anyone."

Donny felt Heidi shudder and say, "When he called me that, I wanted nothing more than to run up and cut the shit out of my arms. My husband, my dearest husband, he uh…had friends, friends who wanted to have a taste of me."

Donny himself let out a soft sound as Heidi went into account as to what happened to her. She told him how her husband's friends drugged her and had their merry way with her. Heidi told him that once she woke up, they begun to blackmail her, threatening to tell her husband that she threw himself on his friends and had sex with them. They would only keep quiet, if she pleased them whenever they wanted.

"They bought friends," Heidi said softly, looking down at her hands, "And every time I tried to say no, they threatened to tell my husband."

Donny was startled out of his thoughts, when Heidi laughed harshly, and said, "He was a fucking work of art, I'm glad that bastard is dead, did you know, he knew all about his friends raping me?! He knew, he gave them the idea to put roofies in my tea. They had been paying him to rape me!"

"Heidi, you're telling me that your husband, essentaily sold you out to his friends," Donny asked, earning a nod from Heidi, "Oh, Heidi, Heidi….I'm so terribly sorry that he did something like that to you, How did you find out?"

"He came home, during a round, sat in this high back chair that he had placed in our bedroom, and watched, he fucking watched as his friends raped me, that bastard!" Heidi said gripping the pillow she held in her arms, "He told me he knew all along, he told me that they had been paying the amount he thought was fair; five dollars, he called me a five dollar whore, and told me that I should start getting used to this lifestyle."

Donny opened his mouth to speak, but Heidi snapped her head up suddenly and said, "I'm glad he's dead, that we killed him, if I had let him live, he could have very well come up here, like that man, and demand to take me home, and you all would be powerless to stop him, he's that powerful, you know…"

"If he had lived, and had found out that I was here, and I that I had given birth to his child, I know he would come, and take us away," Heidi said softly, rocking again, "I wouldn't let him get my child, he would rape her, and sell her out as well, that's what he used to tell me, if we had daughters, they would suffer the same fate as me."

Donny felt his blood run cold as Heidi said, "If he had lived, and came here, I'd kill myself, and my child, because death would be the only escape we both would have."

"He's dead Heidi, so you don't have to worry about doing a double suicide-homicide," Donny said, hugging the shaking woman to him, "He won't ever get to you, I swear it, dead men can't come back to life."

"A blessing I keep close to my heart…." Heidi said with a smile, leaning into Donny's touch, "He can't come back, I'm safe and so is my child."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Diesel let out a sound, closing his eyes and turning his head to the side, looking over to Jeanne's face. They were outside of the room that Donny and Heidi her in, having a session of some sorts. Diesel had told Jeanne of the news that Heidi's husband was still alive. They both ran to tell Heidi, but after hearing what she just said….

"I can't tell her," Diesel said earning a glare from Jeanne, "Did you not hear what she just said, she would kill Sammy and herself, if he came after her! He is actively looking for her!"

"You'll protect her, Diesel, you've done it before," Jeanne said, placing a hand on Diesel's arm, "You love her right? You've saved her once, you can do it again."

"Yeah, well, I have to protect her and Stephanie," Diesel said, looking over to Jeanne, "Her husband, Morelli, right? Well, he's teamed up with Heidi's husband, they're both looking for their wives, and they're under one roof."

Jeanne shook her head, and said, "How fucking convenient."

TBC…..

Reviews are loved, I love your feedback! :T


	9. Power

Chapter nine! Enjoy! sorry about the delay, busy shopping for college stuff, and writing my orignial work!

Disclaimers and Warnings in the first chapters

Chapter 9

_Power_

"Diesel!" Sammy said, running up to the man and jumping into his arms, "You're back! I missed you so much! We got Mommy some ice cream, but I think she won't mind if you shared it with her."

Diesel chuckled, kissing Sammy's cheek, he had missed this child so much, he had missed this places, but most off all, he missed Heidi. He had missed her so much that he ached to pull her into his arms and never let her go.

"Hello Diesel," Stephanie said, passing the brown paper bag to him, "It's chocolate chocolate brownie, Sammy said it was Heidi's favorite."

"It is her favorite," Diesel said, situating Sammy in one arm, his other hand holding the bag of ice cream, "And…it's Sammy's favorite as well, but you got it for your mommy, right?"

"Yeah!" Sammy said hugging Diesel's neck, "Where is she?"

"She's busy at the moment, come and help be put this away, okay?" Diesel asked Sammy, walking her into the kitchen, "Did you miss my cooking?"

"I sure did, Diesel, and I missed you…" Sammy said, hugging Diesel again, looking up at the man, "Diesel…can I call you daddy?"

"Yes you may," A voice said, making Diesel and Sammy turn, looking at Heidi who stood in the kitchen doorway, her arms crossed, "Besides; I know Diesel would love it, if you called him daddy."

"Yay! I have a daddy now!" Sammy said, hugging Diesel's neck again and kissing his cheek, "I have a good daddy too."

"Yes you do," Heidi said, plucking Sammy out of Diesel's arms, kissing her softly, "Now, go and buzz off, annoy Jeanne and Lester, they're playing video games."

Sammy's eyes brightened and she shimmied out of her mother's arms and took off to find Jeanne and Lester.

Heidi smiled coyly at Diesel, who nodded his head and said, "So, are you trying to tell me something, Heidi?"  
"Yeah, I am," Heidi said, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around Diesel's waist, "I'm ready, remember what you asked me three years ago?"

"I do," Diesel said, cupping Heidi's cheek, and kissing the side of her mouth, "I asked you to marry me, which was a stupid question at the time."

"And I told you that I needed time, well, time's up, I want to marry you, I love you, Diesel, I think it's time we sealed the deal, make me your wife," Heidi said, leaning up and kissing Diesel on his lips.

"What brought this on?" Diesel asked, though he wasn't complaining, he was quite excited, "I hope something good, right?"

"Well, it's been about five years, since my husband's death, I think I've done 'mourning' him," Heidi said hugging Diesel, "It's time I moved on, with someone who will love me, cherish me and my daughter, and do no wrong against us both."

Diesel leaned forward and said, "I've been waiting to hear that for a long time, Heidi, I'll make sure nothing happens to you both, you're my girls."

Diesel let go of Heidi and said, "Well, that means I have to go out and buy you a ring and stuff, "I don't know what to get you though."

Heidi silenced him with a kiss and said, "Surprise me, I really don't care, as long as we get married, right?"

"Right," Diesel said before he held up the paper bag and said, "let's celebrate with some half melted ice cream, Chocolate chocolate brownie, your favorite."

The two sat at the kitchen table, enjoying the running remains of the ice cream. As Diesel ate, his eyes lingered to the multitude of scars that covered Heidi's arms. He couldn't help but to look at the large jagged ones that were located at her wrist, the remnants of a suicide attempt. His woman had been through hell and back again, and kept it a secret from everyone around her. The only one who truly knew what had happened to her was Donny, and he wasn't about to break morals and ethics, just to tell everyone else.

"Deep thoughts, Mr. Diesel?" Heidi asked, placing a hand over Diesel's, "You seemed to be lost in your mind."

"Oh, I'm just trying to picture the perfect ring for you, baby," Diesel said, placing his spoon in the now empty container, "I think a princess cut diamond would look awesome on your finger."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Donny looked up from his paperwork, as the door to his office opened, and Diesel slid into his office and sat down in front of him. This was a surprise, Diesel thought that psychologists were quacks, and he truly didn't believe that Donny was a person he could convey his problems to. Donny placed his papers down on his desks and said, "Diesel, what can I do for you? Is it Heidi? Does she need to talk to me?"

"Uh…no, I want to talk to you," Diesel said, running a hand through his hair, "Uh, I Heidi and I are getting married."

"Oh, well, congratulations, I'm glad you waited a bit before springing the question on the woman." Donny said with a smile.

"Well, I didn't ask her to marry me," Diesel said with a smile, watching Donny's eyes widen with surprise, "Yup, she asked me, now, all I have to do is find her the perfect ring."

"Oh, is that why you came to talk to me, well, I don't know much about rings, I may be gay, but I don't know much about jewelry," Donny said, looking over to Diesel who shook his head and sighed.

"That's not what I wanted to talk to you about," Diesel said softly, his eyes closed, "I wanted to talk to you about Heidi, and about her suicide attempt."

"Oh, well…we all know she tried to kill herself, by cutting her wrist," Donny said softly, leaning forward, "I know it's such a hard thought, Diesel, but-"

"She tried to kill herself after she failed to bleed out, you know," Diesel said softly, his eyes far away, "She jumped off a bridge and into the water below it."

Donny gave Diesel a look, and said, "Tell me why you told me this, Diesel."

"We were celebrating, about us getting married, and I took a look at her scars, it reminded me that I had nearly lost her again, after finding her her," Diesel said running a hand through his hair again, "She's so fucking perfect, and sweet and kind, how that bastard go to her, I don't know how!"

Diesel let out a sigh and said, "That dick, had her locked in their home, and she escaped. You know, I had been looking for her all this time, and she had been under my nose, really. They had been living in a house only one block from where I was staying. The only reason why I didn't know where she was because she had been kept prisoner in the house, what I wouldn't give to kill him again-"

"Diesel, you're off track, let's get back on, right?" Donny said, sitting back in his seat, "Now, tell me."

"Well, anyways, I was walking across a bridge that's close by to my house, I usually walk on it every day," Diesel said, leaning forward, so his elbows rested on his knees, "I saw her, I saw my Heidi, walking on the bridge, I could never forget those eyes, no one has amber eyes like her, but, her eyes, they looked so dead, and she looked so defeated, hunched over, as if she had given up on everything. It was cold outside freezing, but, she didn't seemed to care, she had been dressed in a dress she threw on and nothing else. I watched her climb over the railing of the bridge and jump into the water."

"Who saved her?" Donny asked Diesel, who sat up in the chair.

"I did, I jumped in after her, fuck! That water had been cold, and the current was strong, it pulled me under," Diesel said tapping his knee, "We both almost drowned that night, but, I managed to grabbed Heidi and pull her to shore."

"Damn it!" Diesel snapped, bashing his fist on Donny's desk, and earning a glare from said man, "She just did it so calmly too; she didn't even hesitate as she climbed over the rail of the bridge, and I swore I saw her smiling as she jumped."

"You haven't told anyone about this suicide attempt, you and Heidi have kept it hush hush," Donny said, putting his papers down, "It must have been a heavy weight on your shoulder, for you to come to me."

"It was, damn it," Diesel said with a huff, rubbing his tired face, "It was the worse feeling ever, to drag the one you love from icy cold waters, and her lips were so blue, and she wasn't breathing, sometimes, I feel like I'm dreaming, and that these five years are all in my head, I'll wake up soon, and be back in my house, alone, and Heidi would still be in her prison.

"Or worse, I'll wake up in a hospital with a cop telling me the woman I pulled out of the water is dead," Diesel sighed, looking everywhere but at Donny, "Are these normal feelings?"

"Perfectly," Donny said, softly, a soft smile on his face, "In fact, Heidi has conveyed the same feelings to me as well, I know a bit about your kind, Diesel, you and Heidi, you're mates, right?"

"Right," Diesel said, softly, earning a nod from Donny.

"And you were mates before Heidi got married, another person of your kind, stole your mate from you, right?" Donny asked, earning a nod, "And you two were separated for five years, five long years, and when you're reunited, you find you mate has been through hell, these feelings are normal, Diesel, honest, if you didn't feel something, I'd be worried for Heidi's safety, and everyone else, tell me, how do you feel about Sammy?"

"Oh, shit, She's the sweetest kid ever, she has everyone wrapped around her finger," Diesel said with a smile, which faltered when he said, "But sometimes, there are these urges, telling me that she's not my offspring, that I have to do something about it, because, she's taking valuable time away from my mate, which could be put to use for the children we'll have."

"Understandable, it's only natural for you to have those types of instincts. Though these urges have become more than whispers, since you've had a major part in raising Sammy, right?" Donny asked, earning a smile from Diesel.

"Oh yes, it's only when those pesky urges to procreate pop up in my head, but, they're so far and in between." Diesel said with shrug, "But, I'm waiting for Heidi to be fully healed, before we even think about having sex."

"Chivalry is a gift that many of your kind seem to not have. I'm glad you're waiting for Heidi to be ready, Diesel," Donny said with a smile, "She will be soon, not to worry, my friend, not to worry, the trust she has for you, runs very deep."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"She tried to kill herself, the silly bitch," Joe's mysterious ally said, with a loud sigh, his fingers running around the rim of the glass he had in front of him, "Silly, silly bitch, she thought she could easily rid herself of me, by killing herself."

The man chuckled loudly and took a swig of brandy, "Silly bitch, not even death can keep her from me."

"So what did you do when you caught her trying to kill herself?" Joe asked his ally, watching the grey eyed man finish his brandy.

"I let her live, I healed her up, all nice and slowly, I made sure she endured the pain she put me through, and then I held her down and made love to her," The man said, with that unnatural smile, "And I would whisper in her ear that she would never, ever savior the taste of freedom, every time she tried to kill herself, I would find her, and I would punish her for it."

Joe nearly jumped as the man turned to him and asked, "Apart from this little blip, has your wife ever tried to escape you?"

"Yeah, went to her fucking sister in California, I went and got her, because her mother told me where she was," Joe said gulping down his beer, "I beat her black and blue because she tried to leave me."

"Good," The man said with that smile, "It's best to teach them that straying from the plans we made only results in their pain, it hurts us as well, it hurts us more than the pain we give to them."

"Though, when it does feel gratifying to hear her screams," Joe said with a chuckle, finishing his beer, "The power I feel."

"Hmm, yes, you silly human, how easily it is for you lowly creature to equate power with violence," The man said with a dark chuckle making Joe shudder, "Is that what you tell yourself every time you beat your wife?"

"Well, yeah, don't you feel that way too?" Joe asked, watching the man toss his head back and laugh like a mad man.

"No, I didn't beat my wife to keep power, I beat her because she angered me," The man said chuckling darkly, "She already knew where power laid, and it was with me. By the time our fourth year anniversary came along, she had started to call me 'Master,' a nice title, but I thought 'Daddy,' would be much better, much more close to home for her. She had abusive parents, her father tried to molest her at every chance, when he couldn't fuck her, he beat her, and her mother, jealous of the attention her husband gave her child, beat her and abused her. It's a shame really, the abusive cycle just continued for her, but this time, I got to fuck her."

"My wife parents were too busy for her, her mother wanted her married with children, and her father was busy on his own little world, easy pickings," Joe said with a smile, watching the man smile along with him.

"And when we get them back, they'll be pleading for us to kill them, Hell will be a walk in the park, compared to what we'll do to them."

"How do you know Heidi?" Stephanie asked Carlos, watching the man put the final touches on a customized contract, "You two seem pretty close."

"Oh," Carlos said looking over to Stephanie, "Well, babe, Heidi, Diesel and I were colleagues, about ten years ago."

"Really, but, Heidi's 25, ten years ago, she would have only been 15!" Stephanie said, her eyes wide, "She was working in the military at age 15?"

"Not the military, a branch of the CIA," Carlos said sitting back from his desk, "Top secret, I can't tell you what it is, but The three of us worked there, Heidi was one of the youngest agents there, we got her at age 13, trained her for a year and put her out in the field at age 14, she was a special case."

"Oh I see," Stephanie said tapping her chin with a finger, "She said she had gotten married young too, she had Sammy five years after getting married, the girl is five, she had her when she was 20, that would mean she got married at 15! Holy shit! Her husband was a cradle robber!"

Carlos's eyes flashed black and he growled, "He was worse than a cradle robber," but he composed himself quickly and then said, "He was something else, Stephanie, it's not my place to tell you."

Carlos ran a hand over his face and then turned to Stephanie and asked, "What are you doing next Friday?"

Stephanie shrugged her shoulders and said, "Nothing really, Lula and Jeanne want me to hang out with them after I'm done with work, I don't think I want-"

"Would you like to go out with me?" Carlos asked, "Sometimes, Heidi plans a night outing for the people who help run the community, the next Friday she's setting up a beach bonfire, I rarely go to these things, but I think-"

"Yes," Stephanie said with a smile a blush dancing across her cheeks, "I'll go with you, it'll be a fun time, thank you for inviting me."

"You're welcome Babe," Carlos said, getting up and walking over to Stephanie, "I just thought that you could use a bit of fun outside of the community."

Stephanie felt her heart jump as a mocha colored hand cupped her cheek, a calloused covered thumb rubbing small circles on the flesh, "Carlos…"

Carlos smiled and said, "Babe," before he leaned down as if to kiss her, but the door to the Carlos's door opened and Jeanne swept in saying, "You guys, Heidi got a call from a woman who needs….what is going on here?"

Carlos and Stephanie jumped away from each other, Stephanie sputtering, "Nothing at all, Jeanne."

Carlos smiled and said, "Babe," before turning to Jeanne, "What's going on Jeanne, a woman called Heidi?"  
Jeanne blinked and said, "Yeah….a woman called Heidi, she needs our help, she's in Russia, we're going to Russia, it's a big one too, she's a diplomat's wife, we need all the help we can get."

Carlos nodded his head and said, "Alright, let's go," going over to the door, over to Jeanne.

Jeanne paused and then said, "You too, Stephanie, Heidi wants to join us as well."

Stephanie pointed to her chest and said, "Me?"

TBC….

Reviews are loved, I love your feedback! :T


	10. Temptress Pt 1

Chapter 10, enjoy, disclaimers and warning in the first chapter.

_Trapped_

_Temptress Pt. 1_

"I don't like the woman you saved, Stephanie."

Stephanie looked down at Sammy, who was drawing a picture of a flower for her mother. Stephanie had to do a double at the words that came out of the child's mouth. Sammy never, ever openly disliked anyone, if she disliked you, she wouldn't come near you, but to say it out loud….

"Why is that, Sammy?" Stephanie asked the girl, watching her sit up sand turn to Stephanie.

"Because, she's rude, she doesn't help out like she's supposed to, she cries if she's told to do her work, and most of all, she looks at my daddy the way Lester looks at Jeanne," Sammy said crossing her small arms and glared, "And she always calls me bad names when no one is around."

Stephanie looked around the empty living room, before she slid down beside Sammy and cuddled her into her arms, "I don't like her too, but, your mommy made a promise to help those who called for her help, even those unsavory people."

"I wish, sometimes, that mommy could say no to certain people, like Natasha," Sammy said softly, hugging Stephanie's neck, "The way that woman uses mommy, it's so horrible, and mommy is so nice to her-"

"I hope you're not talking about me, little one," A woman's voice said, the voice laced with Russian, "What have I ever done to you?"

Stephanie turned and saw the woman Sammy was talking about, Natasha, the wife of a very important diplomat, and the woman Stephanie helped rescued. There was something about Natasha that Stephanie did not like, it could be from the way she believed how she was better than everyone else, including the woman who risked her life to save her, or it could be from the way her eyes, which were black as night, would sweep over every male body they could see. Oh yeah, Sammy was on to something.

"It's what you haven't done, more like it," Sammy muttered softly, before she perked up seeing Diesel walk into the living room as well, "Daddy! Daddy! Can we go to the park today?"

Diesel caught the running girl in one arm and said, "Of course we can, Princess, come on, I'll grab your shoes and we'll make a lunch date, okay?"

Sammy nodded her head and hugged Diesel again, "I want Mommy to come with us, okay?"

"Okay, princess," Diesel said, before he turned to Stephanie and Natasha, "Would you ladies like to join us?"

"Oh, I would love to-" Natasha started, but Stephanie got up and said quickly, "We can't join you, we have to go clean out a small room."

Natasha gave Stephanie a glare while Diesel nodded his head and said, "Well, maybe next time, later ladies, I have to take my girls out!"

Sammy waved goodbye to Stephanie, but gave Natasha a glare, as Diesel swept her out the living room. Stephanie turned to Natasha, when the woman said, "Oh, that Diesel is such a fine man, don't you think so, Stephanie?"

Stephanie took a good look at Natasha, she was beautiful, very beautiful, but her personality, and her soul were twisted. She was a natural blond, with bright blue eyes and a killer body. She was most likely a trophy wife to the Russian Diplomat, who had had enough of her husband's beatings and called Heidi. Even after being here for a month, she still had bruising around her eyes and around her neck. Now, this woman, this ungrateful battered woman was about to tread in dangerous waters.

"He is handsome, but he's in love with someone else, the woman who risked her life to smuggle you out of Russia," Stephanie said to Natasha, who smiled prettily and flipped her blond hair.

"Oh, the little girl, she's not woman enough for him," Natasha said with a coy look, "Besides, she can't have all the fun now, he needs a real woman, like me."

Stephanie watched as Natasha walked coyly over to her, "Diesel is sexy, but, Carlos is sexy too, I could go after him as well."

The way Stephanie's eyes widen had Natasha giggling, and walking away, "I thought so, I'll see you at dinner, Stephanie."

Stephanie wrapped her arms around herself and let out a sound from the back of her throat. She really didn't like that damn Natasha.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Oh my god," Jeanne said with a gasp, "Heidi, is that what I think that is?"

Heidi let out a sound as Jeanne grabbed her hand, more importantly, the ring that she was wearing. It was a slim platinum band with a smoke colored gem on top of it, surrounded by several smaller white gems. The bad had words engraved on it which seemed to form a chain. It was a lovely ring, it seemed to be made for Heidi's hand.

Jeanne smiled and said, "Is this it? Has he popped the question to you?!"

"Yes, a few days back, at the park with Sammy," Heidi said, earning the attention of the women that were in the Midway Home at the time, "It's official, Diesel and I are getting married!"

The group around Heidi let out squeals and began to comment about the gem in the middle of the band. Heidi smiled and said, "Oh, it's a grey diamond! Diesel got it because he knew how much I loved the color of Sammy's eyes, and the engraved words are latin, they mean 'My soul is forever entwined with yours.'"

The woman cooed and congratulated Heidi, before leaving to go back into the community. Natasha walked up to Heidi and Jeanne and said, grabbing Heidi's hand, "What a lovely ring, it fits your hand nicely, Heidi, it's small, just your hand and fingers, like a little girl."

Natasha let out a laugh as she examined the ring, "It's like Diesel's marrying a little girl, right?"

Heidi's face flushed and she nervously twisted the ring. Jeanne rolled her eyes and said, "Please, Heidi isn't a little girl, she's all woman."

Natasha smiled sweetly and said, "Oh, I'm sure she is, Diesel knows all about Heidi and about her being all woman, right?"

Heidi's flush got deeper and she made a hasty retreat, talking about papers that needed to get faxed off to the local police department. Jeanne gave Natasha a look before she followed after Heidi. Natasha smiled and turned to walk back out the kitchen, but she was startled, seeing Stephanie standing in the doorway, her hands on her hips and a glare on her face. Natasha smiled that sweet smile again and asked, "What?" before she walked over to the fruit bowl and picked up a pear.

"I heard what you said to Heidi, that wasn't right, Natasha." Stephanie grounded out, giving Natasha another glare, "You're over stepping some lines…."

"How was I supposed to know that she and Diesel were never intimate," Natasha said sitting down at the long table to eat her fruit, "Besides, a handsome man like that, Heidi should know better than to leave him without."

"You just….you just don't understand, Natasha!" Stephanie said suddenly, "You should stay out of people's business and keep your head tucked!"

"Now, what kind of fun would that be?" Natasha asked Stephanie, before she finished her fruit and left the kitchen.

Stephanie tuned to watch Natasha leave, before she made up her mind and made her way upstairs, to Carlos's office, hopefully the man will be in the area and she'd express her feelings about Natasha.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Carlos sat in his office, staring at the blue screen of his laptop. Stephanie had conveyed to him, the same exact thoughts he had about Natasha. He did not like the woman at all. There was something about her that made Carlos's skin crawl. Stephanie had said that Natasha was interested in Diesel, and she was playing mind tricks on Heidi to get to him. Carlos didn't need to be told by Stephanie what Natasha was doing, all he had to do was watch the woman. She was playing at Heidi's insecurities, and it was working. Natasha's words, though they sounded as sweet as honey, were poisonous and cruel, making Heidi curl back into herself. As Heidi curled back into herself, Natasha began to spend more time with Diesel.

Carlos wouldn't tell Stephanie this, but Natasha had once tried to seduce him. He deflected her of course, due to the fact that he wasn't interested in her. Carlos was more attracted to a certain woman with blue eyes, a sweet personality and who is able to do Rangeman's payroll in less than a day. Natasha hadn't even batted an eyelid at the rejection, she just smiled and told Carlos she wasn't his prize.

Diesel was, and that's what made Carlos angry. For Natasha to do what she was doing, it sickened him. She was biting the hand that was feeding her, right down to the very marrow.

Carlos let out a groan, and then got up from his desk, making his way out his office, down the hallway and over to the closed door of Donny's office. He had had talks with shrinks before, after missions, so that the military could deem him sane enough to ship him out on more missions. When he had first met Donny, the man had told him if he ever needed something, his office was open for him. Carlos snorted at that; he would bet money that Donny said that to everyone.

Carlos knocked on the door and opened it when Donny's voice said, "do come in, please."

Carlos smiled at the surprised look Donny gave him and sat down in the empty chair that was across from Donny's desk. Donny shuffled some papers and said to Carlos, "I really wasn't expecting you, Carlos, you've always scoffed at the idea of talking to me, I know your stances on psychiatrists."

"Yeah, you're a bunch of quacks," Carlos said, shrugging his shoulders, "They've spewed so much bullshit to the government, about me being cleared for missions…."

"Well, I was never one of those types of quacks," Donny said with a soft smile, leaning back in his chair, "What can I helop you with, Carlos, there's no government here, it's just you and I."

"Natasha," Carlos said, earning a low and heavy sigh from Donny, "What did I say?"

"Natasha," Donny said with a frown, 'You're not the only one to come to me about Natasha, I can't say who else came, but you're not the only one."

"Oh, well, I'm sure these people have to come to you, and told you about how that woman is destroying Heidi's self-esteem and worming her way into seducing Diesel." Carlos spat out, the anger he was trying to control slipping out of his grasp, "I've never thought about hurting women before, but Natasha-"

"Let me stop you right there," Donny said quickly, his eyes serious, "While it's only natural to have thoughts, Carlos, It's best for you not to dwell on them, okay? With your background as a mercenary, I can only imagine the ways you can get rid of Natasha's body."

Carlos chuckled and said, "That is true, I'm just scared for Heidi, you know, after all she's been through, what she's done for the men and women here, she can't let Natasha do this to her, Heidi needs to kick her out."

"She does," Donny said, earning a surprised look from Carlos, "Based on the evaluations I've given Natasha, I've deemed her a danger to everyone in the community, I personally told Heidi she needed to kick Natasha out. When I told her, however, Natasha came along and told Heidi a sob story, and Heidi, our sweetheart, believed it. Natasha is an egotistical parasite, leeching off of others to get what she wants. She is definitely not afraid to destroy anyone to get the cream, and the cream she is after is Diesel. She's already done a number on Heidi's self-esteem, what took us five years to build only took Natasha five weeks to destroy."

"What do we do about it?" Carlos asked Donny, fear nipping at his body, 'What do we do about Natasha, even though Heidi won't kick her out?"

Donny rubbed his tired eyes and then said in a low voice, "Carlos, I'm going to give Heidi two more weeks, if she doesn't kick Natasha out then, you do it, you kick the woman out, I give you permission, Heidi may not like it, but it's for her mental health, if Natasha stays any longer, I fear that Heidi might do something extreme."

"Suicide?" Carlos asked, earning a head nod from Donny, "I really want her gone now…"

"Heidi's resumed cutting herself," Donny said softly, resting his head in his hands, "Natasha has given her the tools needed for her to start cutting again, I shouldn't be telling you this, but, Heidi's life is in danger, and I know you and Diesel will do what's needed to be done to protect her."

"That bitch," Carlos said softly, before he got up and began pacing around the office, "Pardon my French, I would never speak ill of a woman but-"

"I understand, Carlos," Donny said softly, his eyes hard, "But, something needs to be done, soon, the moment something extreme happens, you do something, I give you permission to do so, Heidi may be the captain of this ship, but I'm co-captain, and if the captain is compromised, I take over, and I'm taking over right now."

Carlos nodded his head and said, "I understand, Donny, I'll talk to you soon," turning to walk out the office, "Have a good day, Donny."

"Have a good day, Carlos," Donny said, just as Carlos left the office and closed the door behind him, "hopefully you can get this all settled down soon."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"It must be hard for you and Diesel to not be intimate, I bet that man needs it all the time."

Stephanie stopped herself from walking into the kitchen and situated herself close to the archway to listen to Natasha talk to Heidi. Rage boiled inside of Stephanie as she listened to Natasha insult Heidi. She could picture Heidi now, sitting at the long table, twisting the engagement ring Diesel have given her on her finger. Heidi would except each insult, because Heidi had issues with her self-esteem. Each day Natasha poisoned Heidi's mind, Heidi would get quieter, more depressed. Heidi took to spending more time in her bed, she ate less and found it hard to interact with Sammy. It was affecting everyone, Sammy more so than others, because this was her mother who was ignoring her.

"I mean, even if I had problems with being so close to someone, I would still make sure my lover was happy, it's a shame you're being so selfish, Heidi."

"I'm not selfish, Diesel said he doesn't mind waiting for me to be-" Heidi started, but Natasha cut her off

"He's lying, you know," Natasha said with that honey sweet voice, "He looks at the other womem here, and when he's out and about in town, he tells me these things you know, because he's scared to tell anyone else, least they tell you-oops."

Stephanie let out a low hiss, that woman wasn't sorry at all. Stephanie heard a chair scoot back and then she heard Heidi say ,"He would never do that, he wouldn't!"

"Oh, are you so sure of yourself, Heidi, you've never been intimate with that man before, he has needs you know…." Natasha said her the sound of her voice getting closer to Stephanie's spot, meaning she was leaving the kitchen, "Think about it, Heidi, I'll see you later…"

Stephanie held her breath as Natasha walked past her to go into the living room. Once she was out of sight, Stephanie walked into the kitchen, seeing Heidi sitting at the table, staring listlessly into the glass of water she was drinking. Stephanie grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and sit beside Heidi who didn't even twitch.

"Heidi, are you okay?" Stephanie asked the woman, earning a shrug, "Heidi, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's nothing," Heidi said, before she got up and dumped her water into the sink, "Don't ask me again, okay, I'm going to go take a nap, I'll see you later."

Stephanie let out a sigh and rubbed her face, Heidi needed her help, and she needed it quickly. Stephanie had this nagging feeling in the back of her mind that if she didn't do something soon, she'd lose the woman who helped her out of her old life, due to her killing herself.

TBC…

Reviews are loved, I love your feedback! :T


	11. Temptress Pt 2

Dude, living on a campus college is much more different than going to a community college! I've been busy everyday with school events! n Sigh...sorry about the long wait, to make up for it, this is a really long chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimers and warnings are in chapter one!

WARNING:some sexual situations, and suicide attempts (Trigger warning! Please, don't read if this is too much for you!)

_Trapped_

_Temptress Pt 2_

Diesel did not like Natasha; she was dangerous to Diesel's health. The way her eyes roamed up and down his body whenever he was in the room with her, it made Diesel feel vulnerable, and that was saying something. He always liked it when women gave him looks, even more so when it was Heidi giving him looks, but when Natasha trained her eyes on him, it made his skin crawl. He was a mouse and Natasha was a snake that had been starved for months.

Diesel let out a sigh, walking into the bedroom he shared with Heidi. Okay, he didn't sleep in the bed with her, he slept on the comfy couch that was in her room. It was a vast improvement from sleeping in the bedroom across from her. Though, while they didn't sleep together, they did cuddled up with each other and kiss, but that was it, and that was all Diesel needed. Being so close to Heidi, his mate, the other half of his soul, it sated any and all needs he had.

Diesel paused, seeing Heidi laying on the bed, covered up, fast asleep, the sight had him frowning, it was two in the afternoon, why was Heidi in bed? Diesel walked over to Heidi's slumbering form, climbed in the bed beside Heidi and gently cupped her chin, kissing her plump lips. Diesel watched as Heidi's eyes fluttered opened, focus on his form and Heidi gave him a weak, "Hi…" turning her body towards him, "Sorry, I was a bit tired."

"It's okay," Diesel said with a soft smile, kissing Heidi again, "I love watching you sleep, I love you."

Heidi gave Diesel a weak smile asking, "Do you really love me? Truly?"

"I do, you're my other half, I love you with all my heart." Diesel said, before he leaned down and kissed Heidi again.

Heidi let out a moan, and leaned up into the kiss, letting it get more intimate. Diesel let out a sound, and pulled back, "Heidi, I don't want to take this even further, if you're not ready."

"No!" Heidi said, sitting up suddenly, "I am ready, I just- you've been with me for so long, and all we've ever done was kiss and hug, it's not fair for you to go on so long without anything else."

Heidi ran her hands up and down Diesel's chest, before her fingers grabbed the fly of his pants. Diesel watched as Heidi unzipped his fly and grabbed the waistband of his pants and the briefs he wore. Diesel placed his hands on Heidi's hands and said, "Heidi, I don't feel comfortable doing this, because you're not ready, I can feel your hands trembling, we'll wait-"

"NO!" Heidi snapped, glaring at Diesel, "Damn it! I want to do this, Diesel, please! Please just, shut up and let me do this, I'm not selfish, I'm not!"

"I never did say you were selfish!" Diesel argued sitting up on the bed, "Heidi, you're hurting, and I don't want you to do something that's going to hurt you!"

"I've been hurting for five long years, it's time to take care of your needs," Heidi said softly, pushing Diesel back on the bed, "Please, please….please, please, let me do this."

Heidi let out a soft sigh, grabbed the waistband of Diesel's pants and briefs and slowly began to pull them down, revealing pale flesh which was flushed red. She continued pulling the clothing down, until Diesel's flaccid penis was exposed, lying on a hairy thigh. Heidi shuddered looking down at Diesel's penis, "It's not hard, why isn't it hard, Diesel?!"

'Because I don't want this, Sweetheart," Diesel said, watching Heidi grab his penis, "Heidi, please, we don't need to do this!"

"I want to do this," Heidi said softly, before she leaned forward and took a swipe at Diesel's penis with her tongue, making Diesel's breath hitch from the sensation, "You're shivering, do you like it?"

"Please, Heidi-ah!" Diesel let out a sound as Heidi sucked on the head of his cock, her tongue swirling around his sensitive head.

Diesel gripped the bed sheets, his chin resting on his chest as Heidi did wonders with his cock. Heidi let out a moan as Diesel's penis began to swell in her mouth; he was big, bigger than any man she had given oral to, and she had participated in oral sex with many men. It was a bit uncomfortable, but Diesel had yet to grab her head and force it down, like all the other men did, making her gag, cutting off her air supply.

Diesel jerked and withered on the bed, as Heidi gave him head, it was the best feeling ever, it had his toes curling and his eyes rolling up with bliss as Heidi's head bobbed up and down his cock. When she nipped lightly at the side of his cock, he cried out and grabbed Heidi's head thrusting up into her mouth. Diesel let out a moan as his bas tightened up and he came into Heidi's mouth, bathing it with his semen. Heidi pulled off his cock, as Diesel let go of her head. She kept her head down as she tucked back into his pants. Diesel blushed and said, "I'm so sorry, Heidi, it's been a long time, and I was acting out on impulse-"

Heidi looked up, giving Diesel a weak smile that never reached her eyes, "It's okay, Diesel, I'm just glad you're satisfied."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Carlos knocked on the door of the bathroom that resided on the first floor of the Midway home. He was concerned for the person that was in it, they sounded like they were very ill, by the way they were throwing up and sobbing softly. Carlos knocked again and said, "Are you okay in there?"

There was a moment of shuffling, and the sink began to run, bfore the door opened and Heidi's head appeared. Her face was red and puffy from crying, and she was trembling like a leaf. Carlos grabbed Heidi and hugged her tightly asking, "What's wrong, Heidi?"

"Nothing, it's nothing, I just ate something off, and it hurt my stomach, that's all," Heidi said looking up from Carlos's embrace, "I'm better now."

"Are sure you're fine?" Carlos asked the woman, leading her into the living room, "nothing's troubling you, right?"

"Right," Heidi said with a smile, wiping her face with her hands, "Nothing wrong, just an upset stomach, uh, where's Donny, I have to talk to him about something, okay?"

"Well, he should be in his office," Carlos said, watching Heidi stand up, "Go and check there."

Heidi nodded her head and walked past Carlos who grabbed her arm and made her turn to look at him. Carlos smiled and said, "Hey, you know if you have any problems, you can come to me, you know that, right?"

Heidi smiled softly and said, placing a hand on Carlos's hand "I know that, Carlos, I know I can always rely on you, I'll see you later Carlos."

Heidi slipped from Carlos's grasp and made her way up the stairs. It didn't help that Carlos had this feeling of dread inside his stomach, with each step Heidi took. He wanted so much to take away the pain Heidi was in, but, he couldn't, because, Heidi wouldn't let them. Damn it! why was Heidi so darn-

"Ranger," Diesel said walking into the living room, his face pale, "I think I fucked up, buddy, I know I fucked up."

Diesel only called Carlos by his nickname only when he was distressed, and he was clearly distressed now. Carlos could see Diesel wringing his hands and twitching nervously, the poor man was about to break out into tears. Carlos grabbed Diesel's arm and said, "Calm down Diesel, what's wrong?"

"It's Heidi, we were talking in bed the other day, and well, she…she gave me Head." Diesel sighed, earning a look from Carlos, "I know! I kept telling her not to do it, but she snapped at me and did it anyways. She wasn't ready, I wasn't ready, and now, I feel so fucking ashamed!"

Diesel covered his eyes and said, "I can't even look at her, I feel like I took advantage of the situation, hell, I moved out of her bedroom, I so fucking ashamed, Ranger, it's been a long time, a long, long time since I've had a sexual encounter, besides masturbation."

"Stop beating yourself up, Diesel," Carlos told his friend, shaking him slightly, "She wanted this, right? It's not your fault, she's going to have to bear the responsibility."

"I don't want her to," Diesel said softly, looking down, "I feel like she's back to square one, she's back at that fucking bridge, and she's about to jump of the ledge of it. She's always sleeping now, and Sammy, It's like when she gave birth to Sammy, and she suffered severe postpartum depression. I'm the one taking care of her. She has to get out of her stump, but I don't know what's got her in this stump."

Carlos gave Diesel a look and said, "You don't know? Diesel, are you blind?!"

"I'm sorry if I'm blind, but I've been taking care of a five year old!" Diesel snapped irritably, "what's going on?!"

"It's Natasha, Diesel, she's the reason why Heidi's this way, she's been whispering sweet nothings in the poor woman's ear, destroying her," Carlos said softly, watching Diesel's eyes widen with horror, "She's killing your mate, you need to do something or else I-"

"She's killing my mate, She's killing my Heidi?" Diesel croaked, black spots filling his vision, "Why didn't I see this…was I that fucking blind?"

Diesel stumbled away from Ranger and sat down on the floor, shocked, shaking his head and pulling at his blond locks, "My mate…my Heidi…my Heidi…I'll kill that bitch!"

That startled Carlos, watching the usually happy go lucky man seize up with rage. He had seen him this angry before, when he had killed Heidi's abusive husband. Diesel was really going to kill that woman! Carlos tried to calm Diesel down, when the floor begin to shake, the windows began to rattle, and the pictures that hung up in their frames began to bounce on the walls. Whatever creature Diesel was, he was a powerful one.

"Holy shit!" Lester said, sliding into the living room, "Is there a fucking earthquake happening, I thought we weren't on a fault line."

"It's Diesel, he knows about Heidi, and how she became depressed," Carlos said, watching Lester's eyes widen with horror, "I know, he's going to kill her."

Diesel jerked his arm out of Carlos's grasp and barreled up the stairs, his mind on one thing; killing Natasha.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie let out a hiss, as she walked out her room, seeing Natasha talking softly to Heidi, who was leaning against the wall of the hallway, sobbing softly.

"That fucking bitch," Stephanie said softly, going back into her doorway, so she couldn't be seen, "What is she telling Heidi now?"

Stephanie strained her ears to hear the sugary sweet voice of Natasha.

"Oh you didn't like it when you gave him head, how are you going to handle intimacy, if you can't handle a dick in your mouth?" Natasha asked Heidi, placing a hand on Heidi's shoulder.

"He moved out the bedroom, he went back to his old room, he's so ashamed of me, I can't be a good wife, if I can't handle doing these things with him!" Heidi sobbed softly wiping tears from her eyes, "What can I do? He's taking care of Sammy, he's running this place and all I do is sleep…I'm a burden…."

Stephanie didn't like the long period of silence that followed that statement. She leaned out of her doorway, seeing Natasha whispering words in Heidi's ear, a coy smile on her face. What was she telling her? It couldn't be anything good, due to the way Heidi's face seemed to turn to stone, her eyes bright with tears seemed to have a faraway look in them. Stephanie felt the hairs on her arms rise and she knew that she had to go over there and do something.

"Heidi, I heard you crying," Stephanie said walking out the doorway to her room and going over to the two women, "Is everything alright?"

Heidi nodded her head slowly and said in a detached voice, "Yes, everything is fine now, Stephanie, I have things to get done right now, so pardon me."

Heidi brushed past Stephanie and Natasha, walking into her bedroom and closing the door. Stephanie turned to Natasha and asked, "What did you tell her?!"

"I told her the truth," Natasha said with a coy smile, "I told her something she already knew."

"I'm onto you," Stephanie said softly, glaring at the woman, "I know what you want, and frankly, you need to stop, what kind of truth did you tell Heidi?"

"That Diesel would be better off without her, she should just let him go…" Natasha said with a giggle, making Stephanie's neck hair rise, "She knows, that I'll be a good wife to Diesel, and a good mother to little Sammy."

Stephanie felt rage swell up in her chest, how dare this bitch, yes, this bitch , come into this placed that's meant to be a safe haven for everyone, and turn it into a hell for the one person who risked her life for all of them! Stephanie may not be a violent person, but she couldn't help it, when she said uttered out, "You stay away from Heidi, and Diesel and Sammy, or else, I'll hurt you."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about Heidi soon-" Natasha started, but paused, feeling the house shake, the picture frames that hung on the wall rattling and the overhead light shaking, "What is this, an earthquake?!"

Stephanie turned and yelped in fear as Diesel came barreling up the stairs, blue eyes dark with fury. He turned his head to Natasha and growled out, "Get out the way Stephanie!" before he rushed over to Natasha grabbed her by her neck and squeezed it tightly, earning a loud cry of pain from the woman. He pressed her into the wall and hissed, "I'm going to kill you, you bitch!"

Stephanie had to press herself against the wall, to get out of the way of Diesel's wrath, it had amazed her that Diesel seemed to be oblivious with what was happening with Heidi. This might not be the case now, the look of pure anger on his face told Stephanie that Diesel knew, Natasha was going to get it now.

Stephanie turned to see Carlos run by her and grab Diesel's arm saying, "let her go man, don't kill her! Heidi will never speak to you again if you kill her!"

"It's my right to kill her, she put my mate in danger! Heidi doesn't need any more stress, now that we know that her husband is alive and after her!"

Carlos let go of Diesel's arm and said, "He's alive? Diesel, when were you going to tell me that he's still alive?!"

"As soon as I got done taking care of this trash!" Diesel said squeezing his hand around Natasha's neck, making the woman whimper in terror, "I'm just going to snap your neck in two!"

"Please, Diesel!" Stephanie said, grabbing Diesel's other arm, "Don't do it, leave Natasha to us, go get Heidi, she needs you now!"

Stephanie turned to Carlos, who shook his head, as the two felt Diesel's muscle clench tighter as he added more pressure to Natasha's neck. Diesel truly would kill this woman.

"Diesel?" A soft voice said behind the group, "Diesel…"

The results were instantaneous, Diesel turned his head quickly and let go of Natasha, going over to Heidi, who stood close by her doorway, her hands balled up into fist, hanging limply by her side. Diesel hugged her tightly and said, "Oh, baby, baby, I'm so sorry, I should have paid better attention to you, I would have done something about Natasha sooner!"

"You shouldn't talk about Natasha like that, Diesel, after all, she'll be your mate soon," Heidi said with a soft smile, "I've been a bad partner, Diesel, you should be with Natasha-"

"Never!" Diesel hissed, running a hand through Heidi's hair, "Nobody but you, Heidi, nobody but you."

Diesel grabbed one of Heidi's fist, and lifted it up to his mouth and kissed it, pausing as one of his fingers felt something wrapped in Heidi's fist, "Heidi, what's this?"

"Don't worry about me," Heidi said, as Diesel uncurled Heidi's fist to reveal an empty prescription pill bottle, "Take care of our daughter…right?"

Diesel's face paled with horror, and he snatched the pill bottle up to read it. It was the baby valium that she took from time to time, Diesel should know, sometimes he had to give her one, the pill bottle had been full, there had been 30 pills in it, but now it was empty…

Diesel turned to Stephanie and said with a croak, "Go get Donny, go get Bobby, hurry, Heidi took all her valium!"

Stephanie's hands flew to her face, and she ran down the stairs, to find the two. Natasha made to get up, but Carlos grabbed her by her shoulders and said, "I don't think so, you and I are going to have a nice long chat."

"When did you take this, Heidi?" Diesel asked, watching Heidi's eyes droop close, "Don't go to sleep on me! wake up Heidi!"

"I took them with the brandy that was gifted to me," Heidi said slowly, trying to keep her eyes open, "That way they'd work faster."

Carlos went over to Heidi quickly, once Jeanne had a firm grip on Natasha. He helped Diesel set her down on the ground, her back leaning against Diesel's chest. Carlos cursed softly in Spanish and asked, "Heidi, how much Brandy did you drink?"

"The whole bottle, I want to be out of everyone's hair soon, Natasha was right, I'm such a burden to you, Diesel, Donny, please, you two, take care of my baby…." Heidi said, before her eyes slipped closed, her breath shallow, pulse weak.

"Heidi," Diesel said, shaking thin shoulders, "Heidi, please, wake up, Heidi wake up! Don't do this to me, Heidi, not again, please!"

Diesel felt hands his shoulders, and then there was Donny and Bobby, crouching down over Heidi's still form, pulling her off him, and laying her on the wooden floors. They were talking in hush voices, quick and clip, Bobby was placing an IV into Heidi's wrist, and Donny, was checking her vitals. Donny looked up to Diesel and Carlos and said, "We're going to have to pump her stomach, but we can't do it here, we'll take her to the local hospital, but we're coming straight back here, we're not staying overnight."

"We don't have the equipment," Bobby said, watching Diesel's mouth open, "But they do, don't worry, we'll keep this under wraps."

"I'm going with you two," Diesel said, his voice left no room for argument, "I don't care, this is my mate, and I've let her down, I can only be with her now…I'm going."

Donny nodded his head and said, "Well, come along, we haven't all the time in the world, Jeanne, Carlos, out Natasha in a locked area, no windows, keep a person by the door at all times."

Carlos nodded his head and said, "Got it, just get Heidi all better."

Donny nodded his head, and then, they were off, Diesel carrying Heidi's still form down the stairs, Bobby holding the IV above her head, and Donny making calls to the local hospital, letting them know about the situation and to make sure that an empty room was waiting for them.

Jeanne hauled Natasha up, roughly and said, "Come along, we have a lovely storage closet waiting for you."

Carlos turned to Stephanie, who stood near her bedroom door, with tears in her eyes, and her mouth covered with her hands. He walked over to Stephanie and hugged her, letting her sob into chest. He murmured Spanish in her ear, telling her it would be alright, that Heidi would be back soon.

"Oh, goodness," Stephanie said, looking up at Carlos, wiping the tears from her eyes, "Sammy, she's out with the other children, Carlos, we have to tell her what's happening."

"Well go and get her soon," Carlos said softly, hugging Stephanie again, "For now, we should just let her have a good time."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Uncle Carlos," Sammy said with a giggle, running up and hugging the man, "Where's Daddy, he always picks me up from day school."

Carlos picked up Sammy and hugged her close to his body, inhaling her unique scent. Sammy looked up at Carlos and said, "Something's wrong with Mommy, right?"

Carlos nodded his head, carrying Sammy back over to the Midway Home, "Mommy had to go to the hospital, she'll be back later on tonight."

"Does she have the chicken pox, like I did?" Sammy asked, wrapping small arms around Carlos's neck, "Cause, I can get her ginger ale and Teddy Grahams to make her all better, that's what she gives me when I'm sick."

"No, Quedria, this illness can't be fixed with that," Carlos said, climbing up the porch stairs of the Midway Home, and sitting down in the lone rocking chair that resided on the porch, "Mommy did something that could have made her sleep forever."

"Did she make red stuff come out her arms again?" Sammy asked, looking up at Carlos who shook his head, "Oh, did she fall asleep and didn't want to wake up ever again?"

"Something like that," Carlos said, holding Sammy and rocking in the chair, "She's going to be sick for a while, a long time, so, while she's sick, we'll be taking care of you, because, Daddy is going to be busy with Mommy."

"When is she going to get better?" Sammy asked softly, "I want my Mommy."

"I don't know when she's going to get better, Mommy's been sick for a long time, she's been trying to get well, but someone made her sicker-"

"Natasha?" Sammy asked, looking up at Carlos, "Did she make mommy sick, because, when she's around her, Mommy gets all sad, and she doesn't like to play with me when she's sad."

For a four year old, Sammy was pretty observant, it made Carlos wonder about how much Sammy knew what was going on around her. Carlos nodded his head and said, "Yes, Natasha made Mommy even sicker, but we're fixing that, okay, you're just going to have to be a big girl, and wait, how about Stephanie and I take you to the beach tomorrow, okay?"

Sammy nodded her head and said, "Okay…We can collect some shells, Mommy loves sea shells."

Carlos kissed Sammy's forehead and asked, "Is there anything you want to do now?"

"No, I want to go to my room and play with my dolls," Sammy said, before she shimmed out of Carlos's grasp and ran inside the house, leaving Carlos to sit in the rocking chair, leaving him there to think about Sammy and her future.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"How'd she take the news?" Stephanie asked Carlos, watching him enter the empty kitchen, "Did she cry?"

"No, Sammy's a resilient little girl," Carlos said, sitting beside Stephanie at the kitchen table, "She already knew what was going on, which makes me wonder if Sammy knows about the things that occur in the Midway Home."

Stephanie nodded her head and looked down at the weathered table surface, "She's a smart girl, Carlos, it's such a shame she has to go through this, it's a shame that all three of them have to go through this, Heidi's done so much for all the women here, and then; this one bad apple comes and ruins the whole basket."

Carlos wrapped an arm around Stephanie and pulled her close, letting her head rest on his shoulder. He held her tight, the both of them sitting in silence. Stephanie let out a low breath of air and then said, in a soft voice, "I almost committed suicide too, when it got too much for me, when I was with Joe; I just wanted it all to end, so I put poison in the dinner I made one night. I wanted to kill Joe too, because, I didn't want any woman to go through what I had to deal with on a daily basis."

Carlos sucked in some air and asked, wrapping his other arm around Stephanie, "What happened?"

"Joe came home, drunk and angry, I tried to calm him down, I tried to feed him, but, he took the dinner I made, and threw it on the wall, and then he beat me, angry because I tried to get him to do something," Stephanie said softly, blue eyes far away, "I-I was too scared to try anything else, after that, sometimes, I would be in the kitchen cutting up vegetables, and wonder what how long would it take me to die, if I just slit my throat then and now."

"Babe," Carlos said, hugging Stephanie tight, "I'm glad you didn't go through with it, I'm so glad you didn't, You wouldn't be here now, with me if you did, I'm glad you got Heidi's phone number, I'm glad you got the help you so truly needed, I'm glad you're here with me now."

Stephanie smiled looking up at Carlos, "I'm glad I'm here too, Carlos. it's been a wonderful thing for me, to be surrounded by people who truly care for me.."

Stephanie paused and placed a hand on Carlos's chest, leaning her head up towards his head. Carlos met her in the middle; the kiss sent sparks of something through their bodies. It wasn't a deep kiss, just a peck on the lips, but it made Stephanie smile and say, "Wow," looking up at Carlos.

"I promise you, Stephanie, that I'll never do what your husband did to you, I will never put my hands on you in any abusive form, I'll never lash out at you, I'll never belittle you, or force you into situations you don't like. You're a queen, and I'll treat you in the way you deserve to be treated," Carlos said, kissing Stephanie again, "I want us to fall in love, I want to fall in love with you, Stephanie."

Stephanie smiled again and said, "I want to fall in love with you too, Carlos."

The two were forced out of their love bubble, when someone coughed. Carlos and Stephanie turned, to see Lester, standing in the doorway, a smile on his face. Lester smiled again and said, "So, uh…they're back from the hospital, Carlos, Stephanie, I have to tell you something."

Lester's smile melted away, and then Lester said, "Diesel told me some bad news, Heidi's husband is alive, and he's looking for her."

Carlos gripped Stephanie's arms and said, "I thought as much, when Diesel had Natasha, yelling at her, what do we-"

"It's even worse, Carlos," Lester said softly, looking over to Stephanie, "Apparently, he's looking for Heidi with a man named Joe Morelli."

Stephanie felt her world tilt, at what Lester told her. No! This couldn't be happening, this couldn't be happening! Stephanie felt her body go slack, her vision darkening. She heard Carlos call out for her, grab her shoulders tightly, before she fainted.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Donny placed a hand on Diesel's shoulder, jerking the man out his stupor. They had spent most of the day, and most of the evening in the hospital, making sure Heidi got the medical attention she needed. Heidi had taken the valium, half a bottle of aspirin, and a bottle of cough syrup, trying to kill herself as quickly as possible. It was not only a hard blow to the organization that Heidi founded, it was a hard blow on Heidi herself. It took Donny five years to get Heidi to the fragile state she had been in, and now, she was back to square one, possibly back to the point she had been in before she worked for the government.

Donny had to keep back a shudder; he didn't want Heidi back to that stage, they had all had to fight tooth and nail to save her, all those years ago.

"Diesel," Donny said softly to the man, watching him warily, "We have to deal with a problem…"

"I know," Diesel said softly, looking up at Donny, "Natasha, what are we going to do? We can't give her to the police…"

"This is a first for this place," Donny said softly, looking over to Heidi's still form, "If I know Heidi, she'd send Natasha on her merry way, but we can't, not with the news you told me…"

"We can't keep her here either," Diesel said, his voice firm, "I refuse to let her stay this close to Heidi."

"Indeed," Donny said, before he crossed his arms and said, "I don't know what we should do, the best solution is to get everyone in charge here, and then we shall make a group decision."

Donny sighed and said, "I'm glad we decided to place the community and Midway Home in a hidden area, Heidi's husband is a man who can find what he's looking for."

"I'll just kill him again," Diesel said simply, grabbing Heidi's limp hand, "Do you hear me, Heidi, I'll get rid of all the problems you have to deal with, you don't have to worry, I'll spill blood again, for you and for our child."

TBC…

Reviews are loved, I love your feedback!


	12. An Eye For An Eye

Sorry about the long wait guys, School has been hectic, the classwork is easy, it's the after school activities that I'm talking about. I've joined like several events, I'm meeting everyday with my adviser because I'm studying abroad for a whole year in Japan next year, and next May, I'm spending a month in Indonesia. Yep, it's been pretty busy. To make up for it, a super long chapter! Enjoy!

Warnings and Disclaimers in Chapter 1

Warning: Sexual situations!

_Trapped_

_An Eye For An Eye_

"Why'd you do it?" it was a simple question, so simple that it had Natasha looking up at the person who asked it, "Why did you drive Heidi to suicide?"

Natasha gave Donny a dainty giggle, and then said, crossing her legs from her perch on a crate, "Because, I could, Mr. Donny, were you seeking a complex answer to your simple question?"

Donny leaned back on the door to the pantry closet and took a good look at Natasha. She sat in this dimly lit room, surrounded by dried egg noodles and onions, looking as though she owned this place. Her head was tossed back, and her face held the look of satisfaction. Donny nodded his head and then asked, "So, tell me, Natasha, do you feel sorry for what you did to Heidi?"

"Nope," Natasha said with a smile, her eyes bright, "Women like her, they don't deserve happiness. She has it all, friends who love her, a wonderful man at her beck and call, and a child. Why should that waste of space have that, when all I get are men who slap me around and treat me like trash! All my life, my father, my brothers, my husbands, why does Heidi get a happily ever after, when I only get a tragic ending?!"

Natasha leaned back and said, "All I wanted was for someone to love me, like Diesel loves Heidi, and when I didn't get it, I made sure that no other woman could get it either. All the husbands I've had; I stole them from other women, I've broken up relationships, I've destroyed families, and ruined lives, because, no one should be happy, no one but me."

"Have you killed someone before?" Donny asked softly, his eyes hard, never wavering from Natasha's face, "Answer truthfully."

"I may have added in someone's death, but did I pull the trigger?" Natasha asked haughtily, "No, I did not, they killed themselves, all I did was help them find out the truth."

"Thank you, Natasha, that's all I wanted to know," Donny said before he stood up, turned on his feet and left the pantry, closing the door and locking it behind him.

Donny looked up at the small group of people waiting for him and he said, in a soft voice, "Natasha is a sociopath, with narcissistic tendencies, if we ship her off to god knows where, she is bound to show up again…"

"So, how are we going to do this?" Carlos asked the small group that stood huddled in the narrow hallway that led to the locked pantry.

"Well, we do it like this, either we A: Kill Natasha, B: Kill Natasha, or C: Kill Natasha," Diesel said crossing his arms and glaring at the wooden pantry door, "What she did to my Heidi is an automatic death warrant for our kind; I say we stone her out back."

"Goodness," Jeanne said, glaring at Diesel, "Can you be more barbaric?! We have to do it more civilized! We push her off the cliff that's behind the community!"

"We should take a vote, as to decide if Natasha should live or should she die," Carlos said softly, earning a look from Donny, "This woman drove Heidi to suicide, we all made a promise that we would protect Heidi, we made that promise from day one, we failed her for five years, but we sure as hell can protect her now."

"Alright," Lester said, looking around, "For all those in favor of not killing Natasha, thumbs up, for all those in favor of killing her, thumbs down."

Almost instantly, every thumb pointed down, until it was just Donny, staring down at his thumb, which was sitting sideways, as if waiting for him. Diesel looked over o Donny, who sighed, and then pointed his thumb down, saying, "This goes against every ethical code I follow, but this is too personal for me, we shall at least kill her humanely, at the end of this week."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie leaned her elbows on the bed that Heidi lay in, her blue eyes far away. It had been a full day since she had been given the news that her husband was looking for her, the shock had yet to go away. Stephanie vaguely wondered if it would ever leave her. She didn't want to be found, she didn't want to go back to that place, back to that hell hole. She wondered if Joe went to her family, demanding to know where she went. She prayed that he didn't, that he never found out that her grandmother and father helped her escape.

There were so many thoughts going through Stephanie's head, that when a small hand covered hers, she jumped in fright. A small, weak laugh had Stephanie looking over to Heidi, who was giving Stephanie a small sad smile, her eyes closed halfway. Stephanie sat up quickly and said, "Heidi, you're awake, how are you?

"Good," Heidi said weakly, letting Stephanie sit her up on a pile of soft pillows, "I take it that I failed at my suicide attempt?"

"God, Heidi," Stephanie said softly, reaching down and hugging Heidi's head, "Why? Why'd you do it? Why would you ever attempt something like this?"

"Because," Heidi said softly, looking up at Stephanie, "Natasha's right, Diesel, Sammy, you, all these people, they need someone who's stronger, mentally and emotionally, you can't depend on someone who has so many issues."

"You're not a weak person, Heidi," Stephanie said softly, looking at the woman, "You've done so much for everyone here, you've created a place where women and men can live safely, without the fear that their husbands will come and find them."

Heidi snorted and said, "There's a reason why I created this place Stephanie, and it's selfish reason too, I did it, Stephanie, not because I wanted to help out those who are abused, I did it, because I was a coward, Stephanie. I created this hidden community, so I didn't have to deal with the world, It was Donny who recommended that I branch out to help abused spouses."

Stephanie felt Heidi grab her hand and say, "Stephanie, I'm about to tell you something that only a few people know, a secret I've kept from the community, Stephanie, my husband abused me, the abuse started on our wedding night, all the way until I left him, five years, five long years of hell."

Stephanie sat down as Heidi stated, "Of course, the abuse started way before I married my husband. My parents abused me as well. My father he would try to have his way with me sexually, but my mother wouldn't let him. She used to check, every night, that I was still a virgin. When he couldn't have sex with me, he would beat me. of course, my mother despised the fact that I was attracting her husband, and she could never attract him."

Heidi scoffed and said, "My mother suffered from severe postpartum depression, after having me, and she never got over it. She used to look at me, all the time, and tell me that everything that's wrong with the family was my fault. It was my fault that my father wants to have sex with me, it's my fault that she beats me, everything was my fault. To sum it up, my parents never loved me."

"I never really did go to school, my mother didn't like idea of me getting an education, she use to say to me that since she couldn't go out and do the stuff that she wanted to do, I couldn't go and do what I wanted, and what I really wanted to do was get an education, and to get out of that house," Heidi said, looking up at the ceiling, "My father worked long hours at some company, he was some kind of district manager, so we were quite well off. My mother quit her job, to raise me, so most of the time, it was just me and my mother. My first memory of my mother, was when I was three, and I had spilt my milk, she had gotten so angry that she slapped me across the face and called me a clumsy whore…imagine that…"

Stephanie and Heidi turned to the door to Heidi's bedroom, watching Donny open it and enter the door. He rose an eyebrow at Heidi and Stephanie and then said, in a neutral tone, "Hello, Heidi, how are you feeling at the moment?"

"I bit tired" Heidi said softly, looking over to Donny, "And a bit annoyed that I didn't succeed in killing myself."

"Understandable, Heidi," Donny said walking over to the woman lying in the bed, "But, I have to tell you this, Heidi, I had a hell of a time checking you out of the hospital, after they finished pumping your stomach, they were going to put you in psychiatric ward."

"You should have let them put me in there, their security is so lax, I would have gotten away with killing myself," Heidi snapped, turning her body away from Donny and Stephanie, "I don't want to live any-"

"What about Sammy, and Diesel, and everyone else that relies on you?!" Stephanie asked, looking over to Heidi, who tried to cover her head with a pillow, "What about me? I need you, Heidi, you saved me from a dire situation! I need you more than ever right now, since my husband is actively seeking me out-"

"What?" Heidi said looking up at Stephanie, while Donny winced in the background, "What do you mean he's looking for you?"

"HE's looking for me and he's not alone, he-" Stephanie started but Donny cut her off, saying, "He has help from a co-worker, they're working together."

"Oh, oh dear," Heidi said softly, looking up to Stephanie, "This is not good news, you're in dependable hands, Carlos and Diesel will protect you, this place is not on any map, so you are quite safe."

"What about you?" Stephanie asked Heidi, watching the woman sit up, "Are going to protect me as well?"

"I can hardly protect myself from myself," Heidi said looking at Stephanie, leaning back in the pillows, "I am not a suitable leader for anyone."

"I'll fix that," Donny said softly, giving Stephanie a look, "Don't worry, now, why don't you go and get Diesel and Carlos, I wish to talk to Heidi alone."

"Please," Stephanie said, looking over to Heidi, "Don't ever scare me like that again."

Donny closed his eyes and counted to ten, giving Stephanie a chance to leave, closing the door behind her. When the door closed with a soft 'click,' Donny opened his eyes and said in a soft voice, "Heidi, I'm not going to lie, I'm pissed off at you, I've never been so angry before in my life, I told you to come to me, if you felt like this, I want to blame you for this, I truly do, but it's not your fault for this, it's my fault, I should have kicked Natasha out when you began to show the signs. I thought you would have done something, but…you are so kind, you would have never done anything you didn't want to do. You would have never kicked Natasha out, no matter how bad it got."

Donny sat down on the bed, and grabbed Heidi's hand, covering it with both of his big hands, "Heidi, my sweet, child, I've failed you, and for that; I'm sorry, I'm so-so sorry, please forgive me."

Heidi pulled Donny down and hugged him tightly, her frame trembling, "Of course I forgive you, Donny, you've done nothing wrong, it's me who has done wrong, I've done wrong to all of you; I'm still alive…"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"I just want to shake her," Diesel growled, looking over to Donny, his hands balled up into fist, "I just want to shake her better, is that an okay feeling? Please, tell me it is."

"It's quite normal," Donny said, looking around at the small group, "But what you all need to understand is that Heidi is not in the right frame of mind right now, and in fact, it may be a while before she sees that she's not worthless, and that death is not the answer to her problems. Do you all see what I'm trying to tell you?"

There were nods all around the small group session Donny had going. They understood what the man was saying, but it was so hard to believe him, but the crazy part is, it wasn't too hard for them to believe that Heidi could kill herself, they've seen it before, well some of them had, and so, that nagging thought in the back of their heads that Heidi could this again, it wasn't too far away.

Stephanie let out a shuddering breath and said, "She's so strong, why…why would she do this?"

Donny looked over to Diesel, Carlos and Jeanne and nodded his head. They had all been given permission from Heidi herself to tell Stephanie the history behind Heidi. While the subject may be the same, their stories were all different.

"Stephanie," Donny said softly, looking over to the woman, "Heidi, she had troubled childhood, which morphed in to a troubled adult life. Sometimes, life gives you lemons, and they're rotten, the lemons Heidi got, they were worse than rotting, they were decomposed. I met Heidi when she was young, maybe about 5 or 6, I was a young psychiatrist, fresh from college, and working for the department of social services. I was the psychiatrist for her mother, who had severe postpartum depression and a serious case of Narcissism. It's funny, based on the proof of income I was given, her mother could have gone to a psychiatrist of higher caliber, way higher caliber, not one fresh out of grad school. Whatever the case may be, I am grateful she was force to come to me."

Donny placed two fingers over his mouth and said, behind them, "I saw her, sitting outside in the waiting room of my 'office,' she looked like a tiny rag a muffin, dressed in this oversized sweater, and pants that were too big for her. There were toys all around her, but she just sat in this small blue chair, rocking back and forth, looking down at her hands."

"Heidi did tell me her abuse started off at an early age," Stephanie said softly, grabbing Carlos's hand, "How could her mother do this to her, didn't she feel an ounce of emotion for her?"

"Her mother had severe depression and she also had Narcissism, The depression wouldn't let her bond with Heidi, and then the narcissist in her deemed Heidi a threat, so her mother refused to bond with her," Donny said, looking over to Stephanie, "Let's go back to the story, yes, I could tell, right off the back, that Heidi was suffering from abuse, I've dealt with children from broken homes, many of them rocked, rocking is a form of comfort to many neglected and abused children, many autistic child rock as well, but Heidi didn't show signs of autism. If the rocking wasn't a tall tale sign of abuse, then the swelling around her eye was. I remember watching Heidi's mother snap at her, when she grabbed the hem of her coat, and I remember watching the child recoil with fear, as if she would be hit. Once Heidi and her mother left, I made sure to tell her mother's social worker that I wanted to see Heidi, in a private session."

"I didn't know you knew Heidi that long," Carlos said, looking over to Diesel, who nodded his head, "I thought you met her when she was 11."

"Oh, all had to do was ask me, and I would have told you when Heidi and I met, she was such a tiny thing…" Donny said with a sigh, before he looked at his watch and said, "Okay, people, time's up, I have to be somewhere else right now, if any of you need to talk to me, I'll be free in about two hours."

Donny got up and walked out the small sitting room. Jeanne turned to Diesel and said, "Come on, you lug, let's go start lunch."

"You, cook with me?" Diesel asked, with a smile, before the two left the sitting room, "Pinch me, I must be-ouch!"

"Well, you did ask for me to pinch you…." Jeanne sing song, before closing the door, leaving only two people in the sitting room, Stephanie and Carlos.

"It's still kind of a shock to me," Stephanie stated softly, looking over to Carlos, "That Heidi could still be thinking about killing herself."

Carlos got up from his perch in the arm seat, walked over to Stephanie and pulled her up from her spot on the sofa. He pulled her into an embrace and kissed her cheek, before saying, "It's been a struggle that Heidi had to put up with for a while, we'll get her fixed soon."

Stephanie nodded into Carlos's chest and said, "We have to, I don't like this Heidi…"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Heidi leaned back in the armchair that rested in the corner of her room, playing with the frayed end of the armrest. Donny sat on the bed, watching Heidi toy with the few pieces of staring that stuck out of the black fabric. They had been like this for the last hour and a half; sitting across from each other, silent, both of them waiting for the other to speak first.

Donny sighed softly and said, "I understand, Heidi, that you feel like a caged bird, being confined to your room-"

"No, you don't," Heidi said softly, looking up at the man, "I'm stuck here, 24/7, because you all think that I'm a threat to myself and others, which is why there's always someone up here with me, in this locked room, and the windows are padlock so I can't open them and fling myself out of them. All the razors and blades have been taken out my bathroom as are the scissors. The quilts you have on my bed are so thick and heavy; I can't possibly make a noose and hang myself with them. I feel like a prisoner in my own home."

"I'm so sorry that you feel this way, but it's only to ensure that you never try to commit suicide again," Donny said softly, getting up and crouching in front of Heidi, "Please…please, let me know what's going on in your mind right now, please, let me try to fix it."

Heidi felt Donny's large hands close around the hand that was playing with the loose thread. She felt his head rest in her lap and she felt his shoulders shake with sobs. It shook Heidi to her core, seeing the man she considered her father, break down in front of her. She didn't know what to do, Donny was the one held it together, who got her through so much before her marriage and after it. Donny was the strong one, not her.

Heidi hugged Donny's head, feeling the tears burn her eyes, "I'm so sorry, Papa, I'm so, so sorry."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Come on," Carlos said, pulling Stephanie up from her desk, "Let's go out, Babe."

Stephanie let out a yelp as Carlos pulled her close to him, kissing her soundly. Their relationship had progressed along, and now, Stephanie didn't feel as though she couldn't trust Carlos with her heart. She didn't flinch when he would run his hand down to the small of her back and whisper, "Babe," in her ear. There was something stirring inside of her now, something that she hadn't felt in a long time; longing and want. She thought it had died the moment Joe had first struck her, but now, it was back, and clawing its way up to the surface.

"Oh," Stephanie said, pulling back from the kiss, "Where do you want to go tonight?"

"I want to take you into the field behind the woods, on a nighttime picnic, just you and me," Carlos said softly, kissing Stephanie again, "I'll pack a basket, and we can watch the stars."

"That sounds lovely," Stephanie said with a smile, "It is pretty late, isn't it?"

They had spent most of the night going over several accounts, and faxing them off to the many offices Carlos owned. They had worked through lunch and dinner putting the final touches on certain contracts and invoices. At least it wasn't payroll, Stephanie finally twisted Carlos's leg and made him hire two accountants. It worked out well for him, payroll was done efficiently and promptly and Carlos could spend that free time with the ones he loved the most.

"Yes, which is why it would be a good time to go off on our own," Carlos said with a smile, leading Stephanie out his office, "Just you and me."

The coils of desire lapped at the bottom of Stephanie's stomach, it had been so long since she felt like this, so very long. Stephanie laced her fingers with Carlos and followed him, with a smile on her face.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Heidi looked up from the book she was reading, hearing the door knob to her bedroom jiggle to and from, before someone pushed the poor open. Heidi watched as her child shuffled into the bedroom, her small hands gripping a colorful princess themed tray, which held a bowl full of something, a cup and a bottle of ginger ale. It made Heidi smile, watching as Sammy placed the tray on the bed and use her small hands to push it back, so it wouldn't fall.

"Hello Sammy," Heidi said, picking her child when she held her arms out, "What are you doing?"

"Uncle Carlos said you were sick, so, I want to make you better," Sammy said, hugging her mother, "I got you cinnamon teddy grahams and ginger ale, like you do for me."

Heidi let out a sound, looking over to the tray to see all the items that her child bought to her. She looked down at Sammy and watched as tears filled her grey eyes. Sammy rested her chin on her mother's chest and said, "Mommy, please don't be sick, I don't like it when you are."

Heidi hugged Sammy tightly and let out a sob. It had been so easy to say that Sammy would be better off without her. Heidi now knew that it wouldn't be so easy, she needed her child as much as her child needed her. She had been such an awful mother, and an awful friend.

"Mommy is going to get better, okay?" Heidi promised, looking down at her daughter, letting tiny fingers wipe the tears from her face, "So she can take care of you, I promise you that, Mommy is so sorry for not being there for you."

"It's okay, Mommy," Sammy said with a bright smile, "You're here now, with me, now, I'm supposed to be nursing you, back into bed with you."

Heidi pulled Sammy closer to her and said, "I say, why don't we both enjoy the teddy grahams and ginger ale, and I'll read to you."

Sammy smiled prettily and nodded her head, letting Heidi grab the tray and situate it close to them, so they could enjoy a moment between mother and child.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie let out a sigh of contentment, rolling on her back to look up at the moon. Carlos had led through on a short path that went through the woods beside the Midway home and the Community, and into a small field that lay inside of the woods. They had eaten a light dinner of fruits, crackers and cheeses, before washing it down with a bottle of red wine. They were now sitting in the darkness, enjoying the feel of the warm late summer breeze and the stars that were in the night sky.

Stephanie shifted slightly, as Carlos laid down beside her, his hand holding hers as they looked up in the sky.

"I love looking up at the stars," Stephanie said, looking over to Carlos, "It reminds me of when I was younger, more innocent, I suppose. Joe used to get mad at me, when I ask if he would watch the stars with me, he told me that grown women have more important things to do in life, instead of watching stars."

"His lost," Carlos said softly, his brown eyes soft, looking over Stephanie's form, "He'll never experience the way the moonlight shines down on your face, he'll never experience the calm and peacefulness of this moment, and he'll never know how lovely you look when you're this relaxed."

Carlos lifted himself up and tucked a stray black curl behind Stephanie's ear. Stephanie sat up and kissed Carlos gently. She kissed him again, and again, each kiss lasting a little bit longer, and getting a little bit deeper. Stephanie broke apart from the last kiss with a smile and said, "Carlos, I want this, I want you, make love to me, make me feel like a woman again."

Carlos's eyes darkened and he said, with a growl, "Stephanie, you're 100 percent woman," before he leaned down and attacked Stephanie's mouth with his.

Stephanie thought she knew what to expect when she had sex. There might be some foreplay, her partner kissing and fondling her, and then he would get down to the nitty gritty. With Joe and The Dick, she faked it, all they had cared about was their own instant gratification. She had an inkling that sex with Carlos would be different.

Boy, was she sure right.

Carlos took his time, exploring every inch of Stephanie, searching for the spots that made her eyes roll back into her head, or made her toes curl up so tightly that she would cramp her feet. He lavished her breast with kisses and small nips, tracing the areola with his lips, and then using his tongue and swirling it on the tip of her nipple, making her arch her back into his mouth. His hands made their way down her torso, wrapping around her hips and holding her still as he repeated the performance on the neglected breast.

Stephanie let out a whine, as Carlos kissed his way downward, using one hand to hold her down, while he used his free hand to spread her thighs open. He spent a moment kissing and nipping and lapping at her belly button before he kissed his way to Stephanie's mound. Stephanie shivered with anticipation as Carlos kissed her thighs, skipping over the area she really wanted him to kiss. Joe and the Dick never really liked to give, Stephanie was the one who performed the oral sex in the relationship, she could count on one hand the times Joe went down on her, and they weren't memorable times either. Carlos, however, _worshiped_ her, he treated her like an oasis, and he a thirsty man. He used his tongue to trace every inch of her, her outer lips, her inner lips, her clitoris, the patch of skin below the entrance to her vagina. He devoured her, and she was his helpless, yet willing victim.

By the time he entered her, Stephanie had had three spine melting orgasms. When Carlos filled her up to the hilt, Stephanie could only moan from it all. Carlos was big, his girth made Stephanie ache from it, but the ache only tighten the coil of desire inside of her belly. The pace was rough yet steady, it had Stephanie holding on tight to Carlos's shoulders as he thrust in and out of her. Carlos rained down kisses wherever he could place them, on her collar bone, her shoulders, her neck, face, everywhere. Long and nimble fingers manipulated her clitoris, causing her to spasm and moan beneath him. The orgasms came quick and they were hard, and oh so delicious. They had Stephanie calling out Carlos's name each and everytime. By the time Carlos cried his completion, Stephanie's names slipping from his lips, Stephanie was nothing but a mass over sensitized nerves, quivering from the sensations. It took all her energy to put her clothes back on and go back to the Midway Home. Once they were back in the safety of the Midway Home, Carlos led Stephanie into his own bedroom, and lay her down in his bed.

"So, do you still have any doubts that you're not 100 percent woman?" Carlos asked Stephanie, watching her shift in the bed.

"I feel like I'm 200 percent all woman," Stephanie purred, looking over to Carlos with a smile on her face, "We can add another 100 percent, if you're still up for it…"

"Babe," Carlos said, climbing into bed with Stephanie, "I'm always up for it."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie let out a nervous sigh, looking over to Heidi and Sammy, who were playing with some of Sammy's dolls. She promised Carlos, Donny and Diesel that she wouldn't tell Heidi what they told her. Natasha was being kept prisoner in the pantry of the kitchen in the Midway home and in about 30 minutes, she was to be killed. Stephanie was torn, in one hand, She should tell Heidi, because Heidi should have some say in this, but in the other hand, Natasha drove Heidi to the point of suicide.

"Auntie Stephanie," Sammy said, going over to the woman, come and play with us, you look sad…"

"It's only because you guys are playing without me," Stephanie said, sliding on the floor beside Sammy and Heidi, "You couldn't wait for me?"

"Well that's cause you were in the chair all quiet," Sammy said, before giving Stephanie a purple doll, "Here, you can me Melody-"

Sammy let out a shriek as light lit the dimly lit room and thunder rumbled the floors of the bedroom they were in. Sammy huddled against her mother and whimpered, "I hate thunderstorms, mommy."

Heidi squeezed an arm around her child, but her face was on Stephanie's, watching her blue eyes dart to the window and out into the woods, "Stephanie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing….it's just, this weather is fitting for this night," Stephanie said softly, looking over to Heidi who shrugged her shoulders.

"Stephanie," Heidi said putting the doll in her hand on the floor, "Where are Diesel and Carlos?"

"They're busy," Stephanie said as she went back to playing dolls with Sammy, "They're busy outside-"

Stephanie winced, she hadn't meant to say that, damn it! Heidi stood up and said, "Outside?! What are they doing outside Stephanie?"

"I can't tell you," Stephanie said looking up at Heidi, whose face seemed to get darker, "I would if I could."

"Stephanie, don't cover for those men, this is my house, they are on my property, tell me what they're doing," Heidi said in a deceiving calm voice, her amber eyes hard.

"Natasha, they're getting rid of Natasha," Stephanie said her head bent, "On the edge of the property, near the cliff, they're going to execute her."

"...What?!" Heidi whispered, looking over to Stephanie, who nodded her head, "Right now, no wonder those pigs locked me in here with you and my child."

Heidi raced over to the door and grabbed the doorknob, only to yelp in pain, as her fingers touched the cool silver metal that made up the doorknob. Heidi hissed out a curse and snapped, "Damn it! When they changed this fucking doorknob!"

Stephanie grabbed Sammy, scuttling out the way as Heidi went barreling past them and over to the dresser. She watched as Heidi grabbed something out of tin can and stuff it into the pocket of the pants she wore. She scurried over to the other side of the room, close to the bathroom, as Heidi went over to the lone armchair and grab it by the arms. She watched with wide eyes as Heidi heaved it up with ease and then with a dainty grunt, toss it through the window and onto the ground below. Glass went flying everywhere, and Stephanie had to turn away to protect Sammy and herself from the shards. The cold wet wind that came though the broken window had Stephanie turning, only to watch as Heidi jumped out the window and take off into the woods, as if the hounds of hell were at the heels of her shoes.

Stephanie ran over to the bedroom door, with Sammy wrapped around her body, she had to get Heidi before something bad happened.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Only one bullet, one clean shot to the head, she won't feel any pain, and she won't suffer long, instant death," Donny said to Diesel, giving him the small handgun, "Don't make her suffer, Diesel…"

Diesel looked over to Natasha, who seemed to think this was all a game, leaning against an oak tree, and smiling coyly at them all. It was as though she wasn't going to die, that she was going to skip away, scott free.

Donny walked over to Natasha and said, "We are the Judge, the Jury and the Executioner, we have all found you guilty of crimes against Heidi and have sentenced you to death, do you have any words to say?"

Natasha sniffed an said, "I should have made sure she killed herself, that was my mistake."

"Kill her now," Carlos growled, as lightning lit the area, "Kill her now, so we can be done with her."

Diesel sighed and held the gun up, pointed at Natasha's face. It seemed that when the gun was pointed at her face, Natasha finally understood, she wasn't going to be left alive, they were going to kill her. She faltered, and looked franticly around. Nobody in this area would stop him, because she had harmed someone they loved. That thought alone had Natasha's blood boiling, how dare that Heidi how-

Diesel pulled the trigger and the gun went off. For a moment, it seemed as though time stop, and when it started up again, Diesel found that he had fired the gun up into the stormy sky, and someone was wrapped around his arm. Diesel looked down and saw Heidi holding the hand that had the gun. As lightning flashed across the sky, Diesel could see the wild look in her amber eyes.

Heidi wrenched the gun from his hand and tucked it into the pants, before she turned to Natasha and tossed her something. Natasha picked up the item that Heidi threw to her and found that it had been money that Heidi threw to her. She looked up at Heidi who with a heavy breath said, "Get out of here, and don't come back, if I catch you around here again, I will kill you…"

Natasha needn't be told twice, and she took off into the woods. Diesel made a noise and said, "You're just letting her go how could-"

"No! How could you all decided to take a woman's life, just like that!" Heidi snapped at the small group, "We help save people, we're not murderers!"

"She hurt you," Carlos said, going over to Heidi and reaching out to touch her, but a low growl from the woman stopped him, "We had to make her pay."

"No, you didn't," Heidi said softly, moving her wet hair from her face, "An eye for an eye makes the world blind, remember, Donny, that's what you told me? You all make me sick…."

Heidi turned and walked past the group, going back to the Midway house. Donny let out a sigh and said, "She's right, fuck, we almost killed a woman, and for what, revenge? That's what I tell us all not to aim for, and it wasn't even revenge for us, it was all for Heidi…."

"And she let the bitch go," Diesel said with a sigh, before he shook his head, "That woman has a heart of gold, and she doesn't even know it."

"You all better do something about this situation," Stephanie said, walking out the woods and over to the group, "Heidi isn't just going to forget this, you know, you all should have spoken to Heidi first, before you did this."

"Babe," Carlos said, but Stephanie stopped him and said, "Don't you Babe me! You told me to keep this a secret from Heidi, don't use me for your sinister plots ever again!"

Stephanie turned on her heel and walked back to the Midway house, leaving Carlos, Diesel and Donny to ponder in the rain.

TBC…

(I can't believe they were really going to kill her!)

Reviews are loved, I love your feedback!


	13. SecretsOr How Heidi got her groove back

Hey hey hey, another long as chapter, enjoy!

WARNING: SMUT!

Warnings and disclaimers in chapter 1

_Trapped_

_Secrets: Or How Heidi got her groove back_

"This is going to cost an arm and a leg," Heidi mused, as she and Stephanie swept up the mess in the master bedroom, "Now I need to go and replace this window, the frame and get a new armchair. I wish those three men had decided to just let her go…."

Stephanie pulled her work gloves up and picked up a large shard, "I didn't like the way that they decided to kill her, Heidi, but they do have a point, she hurt you, not physically, but mentally, and emotionally. They were only looking out for you, Heidi. They love you, and care for you, and so do I. If I were in their shoes, I would have done the same thing; get rid of the threat. They did it wrong, however, and they left you out of the loop, I would have asked for your opinion, because your opinion matters most."

Heidi let out a sound, and sat down on her bed, looking out the broken window, "I…I don't want any more deaths, Stephanie, that's all I want…"

Heidi looked over to Stephanie and said, "Can you get someone to replace that damn doorknob, I don't want to burn my hands trying to go in and out my own private rooms."

"Oh," Stephanie said, turning to look at the shiny doorknob, "Why is it that your hand burned when you touched it."

"Oh, it's my Kryptonite," Heidi said with a stiff smile, "You know, being a demon and all…you know, I wonder where Donny got that pure silver from, he must have had an allergic reaction the size of Texas."

Stephanie dropped the large shard of glass in the trash bin and exclaimed, "Demon!? You're a demon?! I thought Demons were just fantasy!"

"Well, maybe the demons you're thinking about," Heidi said, getting and helping Stephanie clean the glass up, "You know, reptilian looking creatures, with talons and sharp claws. Demons are humans with extra…traits, now some of us do have talons and claws, but we can hide them."

"What about you?" Stephanie asked Heidi, causing her to pause and look up, "What can you do?"

"I…apart from being strong, did you see what I did to my favorite armchair?!" Heidi asked, but a cough from Stephanie got her back on track, "Oh...well, I don't know, which is a major problem, all I know is that female demons are extremely rare, when I was working with Carlos and Diesel, all the other agents were male demons and humans who were CIA agents and Special Ops, I was an anomaly, but it's alright, it got me a new father, a family that loves me, and it gave me a chance to open this place up."

Heidi let out a sound, sitting back down on the bed, and running her hands through her hair, "But…I may have compromised it now, because I let Natasha go, she wouldn't tell, would she? She wouldn't tell anyone that we almost killed her, would she?"

Stephanie gave Heidi a look and said, "Heidi, my dear, Natasha tried to kill you, and then you let her go, with money, might I add, she might tell, but she might not, because, you saved her twice, once from her abuser, and then from being killed. I think she will be quiet, because you saved her twice, and she almost made you kill yourself."

Heidi let out a weary sigh and said, "I hope you're right, Stephanie, I truly hope your right."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Natasha let out a sigh, lounging back in a sunken jetted tub. Here she was, living in the lap of luxury, and it was all thanks to that silly woman. That silly, stupid woman had given her enough money to enjoy a few weeks at an expensive resort, where she found a wealthy man to leech off of, an oil tycoon worth billions. Of course, he had a wife and two kids, but that didn't matter, as long as she was taken care of and pampered. She had been sure to video tape all their escapades, just in case he wanted to drop her like a bad habit. She wasn't about to give up this gravy train so soon.

Natasha looked around the bathroom she resided in and smiled. Shopping bags from Gucci and high end shops covered the large bathroom. Expensive champagne and chocolates rested on a sliver tray on a stand beside the bathtub and her dinner would be delivered soon, of course from the finest restaurant in New York City. Natasha herself was situated in a lavish penthouse, which rested in a sky scraper that overlooked the river, all thanks to her oil tycoon.

Natasha giggled, pushing away delicately scented bubbles and leaned back again. Life sure was good. She had just gotten really comfortable, when the doorbell to her penthouse went off. Great, dinner was here, and she was so comfy too. Natasha climbed out of the tub, took her time drying off, and then walked out the bathroom and to the front door, grabbing a black silk robe to cover herself with. Natasha smiled and opened the door saying, "You are late, I ordered about an hour-Ahh!"

A strong hand grabbed her by the throat and hefted her back into the penthouse. Terror filled Natasha's body as she looked into eyes of steel grey. The man holding her by the neck turned to the front door of the penthouse and said, "Close the door Morelli, we don't want anyone to see what we're about to do now."

Natasha let out a cry of pain as she was thrown onto the floor, the man who was by the door gave a look and turned to close and lock the door. The man who grabbed her smiled and said, "Hmm, yes, this is where the scent is coming from," grabbing the woman and Inhaling the scent from Natasha's neck, "A few weeks old, but, nonetheless, the scent of a lovely female demon…."

Natasha flinched when the man threw her down again and bent over her form, "I must ask you a few questions, now, and you're going to answer truthfully, if you don't answer truthfully, I'll just-"

Natasha barely had time to react, when the man grabbed her right hand and crush it in his own hand. The pain hit her so fast that the scream she had in her throat got caught in it. All she could was wheeze in agony, while the man held her now broken hand.

"See, it hurts, doesn't it?" The man asked in a cruel voice, squeezing the broken appendage, watching Natasha wither in pain, "Now…where have you been the last few weeks, I want the answer now!"

Natasha let out a whimper and said in a tight voice, "I-I don't know, she didn't tell me, we don't know until we've been there for a month!"

"Who is this 'she' you've been lurking with?!" The man asked with a snarl, watching Natasha squirm with terror, "Come on now, you have another hand that I can break!"

"A woman, she goes around helping abused people," Natasha said, with a sob, "Her name is Heidi, that's all I know! She might be on the west coast! Please, let me go!"

"Oh, were you an abused spouse?" The man asked mockingly, stepping on Natasha's broken hand, "Tell me, why aren't you there now?! Honesty is the key, my dear!"

"I drove Heidi to suicide, she tried to kill herself, because of me, so I got kicked out," Natasha said breathlessly, watching steel colored eyes narrow with rage, "I almost-"

Natasha didn't even have time to gasp as hands grabbed her head and with a powerful 'snap,' the man twisted her neck, killing her quickly. The man sniffed and said in a dark voice, "No one harms my wife and lives to tell the tale."

The man got up from Natasha's still body and said, "Now, Morelli, shall we go, we have to fly to the west coast, and find our wives….but first, while we're in New York City, let's enjoy what the city has to offer us, there are several lovely female specimens just waiting for me to find them…"

Joe held back a shudder as the man he joined up with causally walked away from the Russian woman he killed. He knew he didn't want to suffer the same fate as her, so he followed the man out of the penthouse. Besides, the thought of seeing his Cupcake soon, it had his blood pumping and the anger boiling just beneath the surface.

Soon, he'll have his wife back.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Please, Heidi, for the sake of my sanity, please forgive me!" Diesel whined to the closed door in front of him, "How much groveling does it take for me to get forgiveness?!"

A small giggle had Diesel looking down at Sammy, who held his hand, smiling prettily up at him. Diesel stuck his tongue out and said, "You're no help, Sammy, your cuteness is wearing out!"

Sammy shook her head and said, "No it's not, Daddy, Mommy said you're in the dog house!"

Diesel gave Sammy a grimace and said, "Quiet you, now, try to get your mother to open this door."

"Mommy, open the door, I want hugs and kisses!" Sammy said knocking on the door in front of her.

There was a low sigh heard from the other side, and then, Diesel and Sammy both moved out the way as the door opened and Heidi appeared, giving them both looks. Heidi picked her child up and said, "Okay, you get kisses, but not Diesel…"

Diesel groaned as Heidi kissed and hugged Sammy, before putting her down and saying, "Alright now, scoot away, Daddy and I need to talk."

Sammy nodded her head and said, "Yes Mommy," Wiggling out of her mother's grasp, "Bye Daddy, I hope you get out of the doghouse!"

Diesel gave Sammy a tight smile and said, "She's so adorable, I only want to just-"

Heidi turned Diesel around and said, "Diesel, darling, come in to my room," grabbing Diesel's hand and leading into her bedroom.

Diesel entered the bedroom and let out a sigh, "Why did you buy a frame that's brighter wood color, now we have to either stain it, or buy new window frames, and the bed…..I like the new armchair though."

Heidi closed and locked the door, before she turned to Diesel and said, "Thaddeus, we're about to have a serious conversation, so listen carefully."

Diesel nodded his head and said, "You called me by my real name, I know It's going to be a serious conversation…"

"No more secrets," Heidi said, sitting down on her new bed, "No more, right here and right now, we tell each other everything, let's not keep anything in the dark…"

Diesel nodded his head and said, "No more secrets, and things that are hushed hushed," sitting beside Heidi on the bed, and grabbing her hands, "Um…I snore, but you know that, I like to steal food from other people's plate, and I love flannel."

Heidi gave Diesel a look and said, "Diesel, I'm serious, no more real secrets!"

Diesel sighed and said, leaning his forehead against Heidi's, "I'm secretly afraid that I'll lose you, to either suicide or something else, I come into your room at night, to watch you sleep, because it puts me at ease, because, I fear you might not be real, and that I'm dreaming."

Heidi nodded her head and said, "I sometimes slip up and cut myself, I'm afraid that I might become my mother and abuse Sammy, sometimes, I wonder if ths is all a dream, and I'll wake up back in my dead husband's house, in that bed, waiting for him and his friends to-"

Diesel stiffened up in fear. Fuck, he forgot to tell Heidi that her husband wasn't dead, and that he was after her right now. At this point in time, what could he do? No more secrets, and this was one secret that Heidi needed to know, but how?

"Heidi, about these secrets, I have something-" Diesel started but pounding at Heidi's bedroom door stopped him, "Damn it!"

"Heidi!" it was Stephanie and she sounded frantic, "Heidi! Open up, I need you like now!"

Heidi smiled and kissed Diesel on the lips, "I like how this is starting, no more secrets, now, let me go talk to Stephanie, while you move your things back in here, if we're getting married, we ought to be back to sleeping together."

Heidi left the bed and opened the door to reveal Stephanie, who was letting out sniffles and hugging herself, "Oh dear…what's wrong?"

Stephanie sniffled and said, "Remember when Sammy said a smelt funny, like Abby?"

Heidi nodded her head and said, "Yes, well that's because Abby's pregnant, and in her last month...why does that…oh dear…."

Heidi turned to give Diesel a look, grabbed Stephanie and led her out the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Stephanie shuddered and said, "I am, Heidi, I really am, I'm pregnant…"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie rubbed her tired face, looking over to Bobby who was humming over the results with a nurse. She hadn't been feeling well the past week, throwing up and feeling tired, not to mention the smell of baked chicken had her flying to the restroom to throw up what she ate for the last four years. She had thought it was some kind of bug, and it would past soon, but it didn't, in fact it got worse, the headaches, the dizzy spells everything. It had been he missed period that had Stephanie thinking, maybe, it wasn't a bug, maybe it was something else. Plus, every time she held Sammy, Sammy would make the comment about her smelling like Abby, the woman who was nine months pregnant. Stephanie and Carlos had been sexually active for about a month now, but, have they been using condoms or any form of birth control? She had gone out and bought a pregnancy test kit, okay, she bought 5 of them, and took them all. All the tests came back with the same results.

Positive. Holy shit, Stephanie was pregnant.

Stephanie ran a hand through her hair and said, in a soft voice, "How am I going to tell Carlos this?"

"It's simple," Bobby said, going over to Stephanie with a smile, "Carlos, I'm one month pregnant, with your love child."

Stephanie let out a groan, and covered her face saying, "Why didn't we use condoms?"

"It's okay, talk to Carlos, don't keep this a secret, in the meantime, I'm going to put you on some prenatal vitamins, and call the Midwife for you, she's wonderful, she helped Heidi through her pregnancy and delivery."

Stephanie nodded her head dumbly and walked out the medical office that was in the basement, holding a bottle of vitamins that had pictures of babies on it. She should go right up to Carlos's office and tell him, she really should. She needed to talk to the man, after all, it's his sperm that fertilized her egg. She really should.

She went to Heidi instead; Heidi knew what to do, Heidi had it all together. So now, they were sitting in in the screened in porch that resided behind the Midway home, wrapped in flannel blankets to chase away the September chill, and holding mugs of hot chocolate.

"So…" Heidi said, looking over to Stephanie who inclined her head, telling Heidi she acknowledge her, "You're one month pregnant…with a baby, Carlos's baby…"

Stephanie nodded her head and said, "I don't know how to tell him, should I be blunt, or should I just not tell him at all."

"Well one thing's for sure, you can't keep this a secret, I can smell your pregnancy, so can Sammy," Heidi said, sipping her drink, "Diesel will smell it soon, and you know he can't help himself around pregnant women, he'll ask you a million questions a minute, and Carlos will bound to know, since he's the only one fucking you."

Stephanie groaned and said, "I can't do this, I have an angry husband after me, and Carlos and I were just getting deeper into our relationship too…"

Heidi smiled and said, "But a baby with your boyfriend is the best way to deepen a relationship, besides, I heard that Carlos always wanted to be a father…"

"Really?" Stephanie asked, perking up, with a shy smile, earning a nod from Heidi, "But, this is so…sudden, maybe he doesn't want to settle down just yet, besides, I'm still not…over the abuse Joe had done to me."

"Hmm…" Heidi said softly, looking out into the back yard of the Midway Home…"Hmm…"

Stephanie turned, watching Heidi finish her drink, get up and walk back into the house, leaving Stephanie to wonder why Heidi left.

She would get her answer soon.

(~~~~~~~~~~)

Donny rose his eyebrows as the door to sitting room opened behind him. The sitting room, in the afternoon hosted one of the many group sessions that were held in the Midway Home. This group session had discussions about the abuse the members suffered from the hands of their spouses. Not many people came in the middle of the group sessions, since, well it rude for them to do so. He was mildly surprised to see that it was Heidi, shuffling to sit down behind the group of women who bared their hearts and their souls. What was she doing here?

Donny smiled at the small woman who finished her story and said, "Thank you, Lydia, it takes a lot for someone to talk about what they suffered with, now, would anyone else like to say something, you know, it's good for the soul to get it out into the open, and I promise you, whatever is said in this room stays in this room.

Donny looked around at the woman and asked, "No one? We do have-"

"Five years," Heidi said softly, making the group turn to look at her, "Five years, five long years…."

Donny sat up in his seat, watching as Heidi fidgeted in the chair she sat in. She was biting her lip and playing with her hair, looking down at her feet. Heidi paused, looked up and said, "I had a husband, but he's dead, everyone knows that, but none of you, except for a few people knew that he was a monster. For five long years, I was a victim to his abuse and his manipulations. I thought I would get used to it, seeing as my mother and father abused me, and my father went as far as…raping me anally…I was used to it."

Stephanie's eyes widen and her hands flew to her mouth; she hadn't known that Heidi's father had raped her, she thought that he couldn't, he wouldn't.

"I didn't get used to it, it was a hundred times worse than the abuse I got from my parents! The beatings, the shaming….the manipulations, all of this while I was just a teenager too. I could remember, when I was 17, on the day of our 2nd wedding anniversary…"

Stephanie felt the bile rise in her stomach, rolling and churning as Heidi confessed to her husband setting her up to be used by a bunch of homeless men. She covered her mouth and gagged as Heidi told them that her husband had whored her out to his friends, under the pretense that she had to please them or they would tell Heidi's husband that she was nothing but a shameless whore.

"I thought….I thought that he didn't know, that he truly didn't know that his friends were raping me on a daily basis, but then, one night, during their fun time, he came waltzing into our bedroom, sat down in the loveseat that was in the room and watched, with a smile on his face, as I was used by his friends," Heidi said, wiping tears from her face, "Afterwards he confessed that it had been a game, that his friends had been paying him to fuck me, to use me like I was some kind of whore. They called me the five dollar whore, because that's who much my husband was charging them."

Stephanie swallowed the lump in her throat, as did all the women in the group, and asked, "How did you survive that, Heidi, that's so horrible!"

Heidi sniffled softly and said, "I don't know how either, I wanted to die, so badly, so so badly, I tried to kill myself, you know, not just once, but several times, the first time I tried to commit suicide, I swallowed floor cleaner, hoping to poison myself, it didn't work, I just got really sick, so sick that I wished I had died. My husband he called me pathetic and told me that I would suffer from my silly suicide attempt. Afterwards, I tried so hard to kill myself, slicing my wrists, hanging myself, everything, until…."

Heidi gripped the arms of the chairs tightly, bending her head down, so that her chin touched her chest. Stephanie got up and slowly made her way over to Heidi, who flinched when Stephanie touched her.

"Until what, Heidi?" Stephanie asked softly, "Heidi, what did you do?"

"I…gave up trying to die, and accepted it," Heidi said softly, looking over to Stephanie, "I let my husband abuse me, I let him and I didn't fight back anymore, I just laid there and took it, it got bearable, though, his friends didn't change. I began to crave it when my husband would gently pet my hair and call me a good girl, no one had called me that for so long…I began to call him Master, it was only fitting, right? It's only fitting to call the man who basically owns your body and soul Master."

"Heidi," Donny said softly, making Heidi look over to him, "It was Stockholm Syndrome, it's okay, most women ,that go through your situation, suffer from it, it's okay, for you to feel like that."

Stephanie nodded her head and said, "I went through it myself, I began to accept it, when I felt that I had no other way out, I had accepted my fate as another battered Morelli woman, because I felt that no one was going to help me, so I had to make the best of the situation I was in. I thought if I appeased Joe, the beatings would come less and he wouldn't go out and sleep with other women. That wasn't the case, in fact, it got worse."

Heidi squeezed Stephanie's hand and said, "It got somewhat better for me, he didn't keep me locked in the house anymore, but I was too scared to leave it, he didn't need to physically lock me up, I had a prison in my mind, until finally, something snapped, and I ran away from the house, I ran all the way to this bridge in D.C and jumped from it, hoping I would die, but Diesel saved me, and from there, I got the help I needed, and created this place for other battered women….it only took five long years for me to get here….I guess."

Heidi looked up at the group and said, "That's all I wanted to tell everyone, it's best to get the serious things off your chest, right?"

Donny nodded his head and said, "Yes, Heidi, it's best if you don't hold everything in, I think we can end this session, it's almost time for lunch, anyways."

The women got up from their seats and filed out of the sitting room, each of them hugging Heidi, to give her their support. When it was only Donny, Stephanie and Heidi left in the room, Stephanie turned to Heidi and asked, "Why did you tell them about your abuse?"

"Because, I was terrified of what these women would think about me, that they would judge me because of what happened to me…" Heidi said softly, letting Donny wrap his arms around her, "I've been so ashamed about my ordeal for so long, but now…I don't, because it was out my hands, I was forced into this situation."

Donny kissed Heidi's cheek and said, "I am so proud of you, Heidi, I've been wanting you to go to a session, and now that you've come to one, how do feel as of right now?"

"Good, I feel good, getting it all off my chest, Diesel and I we've decided that we'd keep no more secrets from each other, it's only best if I don't keep secrets from the women I'm helping escape their abusers," Heidi said, getting up and hugging Stephanie and Donny, "I'm hungry let's go get some lunch."

"Sounds like a plan," Carlos said, walking into the sitting room and going over to Stephanie, kissing her on the cheek, "Do you want to go out and get something from the-"

"I'm pregnant," Stephanie blurted out, looking over to Carlos, whose eyebrows rose and his grip on Stephanie's shoulder went slack, "And I'm one month along in the pregnancy."

Donny's eyes widened and he said, "Well I'll be damned…." Looking over to Carlos who was still as a statue, "Carlos, what do you-"

"One month….so, that gives us eight months to prepare for our child, which means, we should start looking for a place in the community to live in," Carlos said, watching Stephanie's face go slack with shock, "I love you, Stephanie, I told you before, that I'm not going to treat you wrong, or get rid of you, we're in it for the long run, and that includes children and illnesses."

Stephanie's eyes welled up with ears and she wrapped her arms around Carlos's neck and sobbed, "You're such a wonderful man, Carlos! I love you, I love you, I love you!"

"Isn't this sweet?" Heidi asked Donny, who rolled his eyes and steered Heidi out the sitting, leaving Carlos and Stephanie alone, "I like that kind of stuff."

"Oh bother," Donny said with a smile, "If it were any sweeter, we all would have diabetes."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"What is up with those two?" Jeanne asked Diesel, pointing to Stephanie and Carlos, "I mean, they look like one of those cheesy couples off a dating site!"

"Indeed," Diesel said with a leer, wrapping an arm around Jeanne's shoulder, "I wonder if they had sex whilst waiting for lunch?"

"Diesel!" Donny chided, waving a forkful of pasta at the man, "That was very rude, very rude indeed, if you ask them nicely, they might tell you."

"And catch their love doveyness, I think not," Diesel said, watching Stephanie and Carlos kiss, "I can guess a couple things, either they have sex, or else Stephanie's expecting."

"If you must know," Stephanie said, rolling her eyes at Jeanne and Diesel, "I'm pregnant, so yes, we're expecting!"

There was a moment of silence and then squeals and exclaims of, "Oh my god!" and "Congratulations!" Jeanne slapped Carlos on the back and said, "Those little swimmers still work, eh? Well good on you, it's about time you settled down and start a family, you're 33, too old to be a bachelor!"

"Yeah, well, Heidi needs to hurry up and marry Diesel, he's the second oldest out of all of us," Jeanne said pinching Diesel's cheek, "How old are you, 41?"

"Old enough," Diesel said letting go of Jeanne and sitting down at the table again, "And don't worry, I'll get settled down soon, unlike you simple creatures, I live for a long time…"

"Simple creatures, blah, blah, blah," Jeanne said waving her hand, "Speaking of tying you down, where is Heidi? She's not one to miss pasta."

"Oh, she's upstairs, taking a nap," Donny said, after eating a forkful of pasta, "We had an emotional group session that she joined, so, of course it's only natural for her to want to rest a bit."

Donny made a sound in his throat, looking over to Diesel, who paused for a moment and then recognized what Donny was really telling him; _Go to Heidi_.

"Oh," Diesel said softly, before he got up from his spot at the table, "I'll go check on her then."

"Me too," Sammy started but Donny grabbed her and said, "Maybe later, for now, how about you and I enjoy each other's company and go into town to pick out some books."

"Why can't I go spend time with Mommy and Daddy," Sammy asked as Donny lifted her up into his arms, "I want to!"

"Yes, well," Donny coughed, looking over and away from Sammy, a blush on his cheek, "Mommy and Daddy, well, they just need their private time…"

"Oh, that's what Jeanne and Lester say all the time, I understand now!" Sammy said, hugging Donny, "When they're done with their private time, they'll be super happy, just like Jeanne and Lester and Carlos and Stephanie, right?!"

"You're too smart for your own good," Stephanie cooed, petting Sammy's head, "I hope our child is as smart as Sammy!"

"I hope not," Carlos said, tugging gently at one of Sammy's pigtails, "Then there would be a lot of trouble."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Diesel let out a sound, looking at the sight in front of him. He knew it should look like much, but fuck, Heidi looked so sexy as she slept. The bed sheets twisted around her waist, leaving her torso and everything above it exposed. It was like seeing Heidi naked and bare, so…unashamed. Diesel wanted to fix Heidi, to help her overcome the feeling of self hatred she always seemed to feel all the time. Maybe…talking to her wasn't all that needed to be done…maybe…

"I can smell the smoke from your ears," Heidi said, her voice rough with sleep, "You're disrupting my sleep, Thaddeus, what can I do for you, sweetheart?"

Diesel smiled, walking over to the large canopy bed that was situated in the bedroom, as he did, he toed off his boots and pulled off his flannel jacket. Heidi let out a sound as Diesel dived into the bed with her and loomed over her, a smile on his face. Heidi frowned and asked, "What?"

"I'm just thinking about how lucky I am, to wake up in the morning and have you resting in my arms…" Diesel said, leaning down and kissing Heidi on her lips, "Damn it, Heidi, you are so….sexy…"

Heidi's breath hitched and she said in a soft voice, "No I'm not, I'm damaged, I don't even know why you even glance at me…"

Diesel sighed softly, and then got up suddenly, saying to Heidi, "Come here…."

Heidi sat up and sighed, "What are you doing, Diesel?" sliding out the bed and making her way over to Diesel, who stood by the wall mounted mirror, which went from the ceiling to the floor, "Why do you-"

Heidi gasped as Diesel grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back to his chest, turning so that they stood in front of the mirror, looking at each other via the reflecting glass. Diesel ran a hand down Heidi's cheek, before her unbuttoned her the back of the dress she wore and tore it off of her, leaving her in only a pair of black boy shorts with a matching bra. Heidi made to cover herself up, but Diesel grabbed her arms and said, "No! Look in the mirror, and tell me, tell me, what you see?!"

Heidi took a fast glance into the mirror, let out a sharp sob and turned away from the mirror, as if she had been shocked at the sight. Diesel nuzzled her cheek and asked, "What did you see?"

"Ugly..broken and ugly-" Heidi sobbed, but Diesel shook his head and kissed Heidi silent.

"No, not ugly, never, darling" Diesel said, running his hands up and down Heidi's hips, "Gods, I see a wonderful, and beautiful woman, whose been through hell and back again, and yet…gods, Heidi, I need for you to feel, to feel like the woman you are."

Heidi gasped as Diesel's lips nipped at her neck, his arms wrapping around her waist. Amber eyes drifted to the mirror where they met blue eyes, which were dark with something she had never seen before; desire. She had seen lust before, but never desire, did Diesel desire all of her, or just her body?

"I want all of you, Heidi, body and soul, I love you Heidi, and I plan on making you a very happy woman…let me erase every bad memory that you have, please, tell me I can, if you say no, I'll stop it now."

Heidi's breath hitched, and she closed her eyes, before nodding her head. She needed this, she needed to trust the man she loved so much.

Diesel let out a soft rumble, before he popped Heidi's bra off, and ripped her panties clean off her, leaving her bare in front of him. He could feel Heidi tremble in his arms, from all the emotions going through her body. She jumped as his hands cupped her breast, finger finding nipples to tweak.

"Your breast, which you've used to nurse our child, gods, they're so perfect, just like everything else on you," Diesel said with a low rumble, kissing Heidi's neck, "I've dreamt of this for so long…"

Heidi gasped feeling something coil in her stomach, "What is this feeling, Thaddeus?" She asked clenching her thighs together, the sensation she was feeling, it was so…odd, yet, thrilling, it had something deep inside her throbbing.

"It's the feeling every woman should feel," Diesel said, his hands traveling down, down to the juncture between her thighs, "I promise you, this will feel so good, watch me."

Heidi opened her eyes, and watched as Diesel lifted one of her legs up to reveal-

"No," Diesel said softly, kissing Heidi as she turned her head quickly, "This isn't a cursed spot, no, this is where you incubated and birthed our child, this is where you'll house more of our children, if that's what want."

Heidi shook and let out a sob, the odd feeling leaving her, "I hate it, I wish I never had it, it's caused so much problems, and…and I wish it would just fall off-ah!"

Heidi's eyes opened wide as sparks shot up her stomach, large fingers were playing with her, down there. Whenever those men and her husband fondled her down there, it was nothing short of torture, but this wasn't torture, no, this had Heidi gripping Diesel's shirt, but not from pain, but from this pleasant sharp feeling.

"Oh…" Heidi shuddered, turning to look at the mirror, watching as large fingers played with her, "Is this…pleasure? It feels so good."

"I'm going to erase every bad memory, Heidi, now, you just sit here and enjoy," Diesel murmured in her ear, before he slipped a finger in Heidi, watching Heidi wither before him, in pleasure, "Look how wet you are."

Heidi let out a soft cry as the finger in her began to thrust in and out of her, another finger finding the bundle of nerves that was hidden beneath sensitive tissue. It had Heidi gripping Diesel's shirt to the point of ripping it, her thighs flexed, trying to clench together, but Diesel had a firm grip on her, refusing to let her quit now. Between the rubbing and finger inside her Heidi felt the coil inside of her tightening up until it seemed to snap, pleasure rolling through her body like a torrent. It had her screaming from her, which were promptly covered with Diesel's mouth as she fell apart in his arms. Heidi jerked again feeling another wave of pleasure roll through her, the waves kept on coming and it was all Heidi could do but hold onto Diesel as they did until finally the pleasure became too much, her vision blackened and she slumped forward in Diesel's arms, passed out.

Diesel let out a chuckle, carrying Heidi to the bed, he didn't mean to make her pass out, it must have been damn good, this really wasn't helping to deflate his ego. He was glad that Heidi had felt like that, he was going to make sure she felt like that all the time, well, not all the time, but for most of the time.

"That was my first orgasm…" Heidi said softly, opening her eyes and looking up at Diesel, " I can see why Jeanne talks about them, they're so good…"

Diesel chuckled , running his hands down Heidi's small frame, "Indeed they are, now, come here, I told you that I'm going to get rid of all the hurt you've felt in the past."

Diesel pulled Heidi up from the bed, and led her over to the armchair in the room. Heidi let out a squeak, watching as Diesel began to strip in front of her, revealing his muscular chest, strong thighs and his cock, which was halfway erected. Diesel gave Heidi a leer and sat down in the armchair saying, "You're in charge, Heidi, you can do whatever you like."

Heidi flushed, watching Diesel wrap his hand around his erection. Heidi knew that Diesel wouldn't hurt her, she felt so safe around this man, she loved him, they would get married soon he won't…

"Can I sit on top of you?" Heidi asked softly, a flush on her face, "And you won't hurt me?"

"No, baby, I'll never hurt you," Diesel said, reaching out and grabbing Heidi's hand, "Come now, this is going to feel good, I promise you."

Heidi situated herself in Diesel's lap, her chest pressed to his chest, and her arms wrapped around his neck. She flinched as the head of Diesel's cock began to rub up and down her slit. Once the initial shock left, she found it different, much more…exciting. Heidi leaned her head forward, resting it on Diesel's shoulder, feeling the head of his cock spread her open. Heidi whimpered holding tight to Diesel's shoulders as he entered her. It burned a bit, since she hadn't done this kind of stuff in five years, stretching open muscles that haven't been used in a whole.

"It burns," Heidi whimpered into Diesel's ear, earning a back rub, "Please…"

"I'm sorry, baby," Diesel said, before he shifted in the arm chair, "I know it hurts, it's okay…"

Heidi let out a keening noise as she sank down on Diesel, her muscles straining from holding her weight up and her head lolled on Diesel's shoulder. As she sank further down, Diesel whispered soothing words into her ear, his hands cupping her bottom to help her support her weight. Heidi bit down on Diesel's collar as she sunk down until their pelvises touched, their breaths harsh and ragged. Heidi leaned forward and kissed Diesel on the lips, before she rose her hips up pulling herself off of Diesel's cock and sliding back down it, making Diesel hiss with pleasure. It was the way Heidi's clitoris scraped across Diesel's shaft that had her doing it again, pleasure coursing through her body.

Diesel could only grip the arms of the chair, watching Heidi come undone in his lap. It had been so long, ten years, since he had sex. When he agreed to wait until he and Heidi were formally together, that meant no sex. He had waited for so long, and now that he had it, it was what he expected and then some, wonderful. He would make sure that Heidi would never label sex as something to fear ever again. Diesel arched his hips up, making Heidi cry out in pleasure as he scraped against her walls.

"Do that again!" Heidi yelped, bouncing in Diesel's lap, "Oh, it feels so good! This is what I've never had! Ah...ah…ah!"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Diesel groaned, arching his hips up, driving his cock deep into Heidi, who arched her back, giving Diesel easy access to her chest.

Heidi yelped as Diesel latched onto a nipple and began to suck at it, one of his hands flying to their pelvises. Heidi's eyes opened with shock as fingers found her clitoris and rubbed at it furiously. She went stone still, before she let out a scream, which Diesel covered up with his mouth. It was a monster of an orgasm, it had Heidi squeezing Diesel so hard that he came insantly, his arms wrapping around Heidi, his own body jerking with pleasure.

Diesel somehow got them to the bed, where they collapsed, limbs tangled together, their breaths mingling as they kissed each other lazily. Heidi smiled at Diesel and said, "Tell me when you're ready for round two, I think I like sex a lot."

"Good, Cause, I love it with you," Diesel purred before he wrapped his arms around Heidi and kissed her.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"I wanna watch cartoons!" Sammy whined, grabbing the remote from Carlos's hands, "I don't want to watch boring news!"

"We've been watching cartoons for hours," Carlos scolded Sammy, picking her up and sitting down on the sofa with Stephanie, "Time for some grown up shows, give us an hour, and I promise you, you can watch something fun."

"Fine," Sammy sighed, before she snuggled into Carlos's arms, "Can we have ice cream as well, please?"

Carlos couldn't say no to those big grey eyes, fuck, how was he going to discipline his own child? "Alright, but only one scoop…"

"Three."

"One."

"Four?"

"One."

"Five?"

"Two."

Sammy smiled and said, "Okay! Two scoops of chocolate ice cream!" snuggling back into Carlos's embrace, "With syrup and marshmallows!"

"Did I just…?" Carlos asked, looking over to Stephanie, who giggled and nodded her head, "We have a future lawyer in the making, I see."

"Indeed we do, I just wonder, how you're going to handle our child?" Stephanie sighed, smoothing down Sammy's hair, "I hope better than this Master Manipulator, goodness!"

"Well, I am going to have to learn it as I go on," Carlos said, turning the TV to a news channel, "It shouldn't be too hard, diapers, bottle feedings, handle it all with Sammy, who was the sweetest baby ever."

"I know that, Carlos, but it'll be our child," Stephanie said, placing her hand on her stomach, "I hope we have a girl, but a boy will be great too."

"I want them to have blue eyes," Carlos said, leaning forward to kiss Stephanie, "And your curly hair."

"Mhmm, though your features would be nice as-" Stephanie started but paused as a picture on the TV screen caught her eye, "Carlos…look on the screen."

Carlos turned to the TV, and narrowed his eyes at what he saw and heard.

"Last night, 24 year old Natasha Valdmin, wife to the Minister of Russian Defense, was found murdered in an upscale penthouse in New York City. She had been reported missing months ago by her husband, no suspects have been brought in for questioning, the police say that she had been living off the wealth of an oil-"

"Well, I'm not going to lie, I'm glad she's dead," Stephanie said softly, covering Sammy's ears so she couldn't hear what she just said, "Maybe it's a blessing?"

"I doubt it," Carlos said, looking up at the person who walked into the living room, "Donny, so I take it-"

"Yes, Natasha is dead, and I know who killed her," Donny said, holding up a red phone, "Seems that the people we used to work for got wind that the dead can't seem to stay dead, and he's out looking for Heidi…"

"Fuck me," Carlos said softly, looking over to Stephanie, "Natasha must have told him…"

"Yup, we better go tell Heidi that her husband might now know where we are, and prepare for the shit storm that's bound to happen…" Donny said with a sigh, grabbing Sammy and hugging her, "Come on, little one, let's go get some Ice cream."

TBC…

(Does Thou smell the ending coming soon? Maybe...w IDK! Anyways, I don't know about the minister of defense, or Russian government, I just blew it out my ass! :3 Reviews are loved, I love your feedback!)


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